Confusion and Devotion
by Lupus
Summary: AU: Bella is bitten by Victoria in Phoenix and goes to live with Charlie after Renee and Phil are murdered. She meets Edward and he doesn't realize she is a vampire because of her human traits. She is still his singer. Can they ever be together? ExB
1. Prologue

**This is just a taster.** I'm going to start writing this after I finished my current story, **_Don't Forget_.**

* * *

"Mom?" I called out into the deadly silent house that was my home in Phoenix.

It was odd. My house was never quiet, and I had never once heard it so still in all my years living there. My mother usually was having a phase, sometimes it would be cooking, other times it would be Yoga but she would always be making a little noise. Whether it was the beat of a wooden spoon on a plastic bowl or a grunt as she tried a harder pose, there would always be sound. Always.

That was why I was scared.

And really, I shouldn't have been. If my house was free from the eccentric personality that was my mother I should be grateful for a little peace. I could probably get on with the heap of homework I had been given today without being interrupted. Even so…Where was Phil?

Phil was my step-dad. Renée had split up with my father, Charlie when I was small. They both said they rushed into it but she always told me she never regretted it because she got me. The 'perfect' daughter. I was hardly perfect. I tripped multiple times a day and I was constantly stumbling over my own feet. Don't get me started on gym…

All the same, I couldn't hear anyone, or anything for that matter.

I threw my keys down onto the kitchen table, picking up the phone. Dialling my mom's cell phone, I looked around my kitchen. Old cookery books were pushed to the side of the counter and I raised an eyebrow at a knitting needle lying precariously on a ball of wool. Apparently, my mother's new craze was knitting. Who knew?

It went to voice mail and I hung up. Trying to forget about how alone I was, I grabbed a snack from one of the cupboards, picked up my bag – weighed down with a biology presentation I had to finish – and made my way to the living room. I pushed the door open.

I froze as I felt my foot touch something hard and solid.

Lying in a brutal heap by my feet was my step-dad. His eyes had glazed over and I could smell the blood seeping off him. There were no indications to show how he died apart from the marks on his neck._Teeth marks…_

My heart was thudding faster than I thought possible as I looked up to see Renée pressed in a corner, looking up with fearful eyes to a man who was positively unreal. The sun reflected into the room from the gap in the curtain and made his skin shine like diamonds. He was _not _human.

Renée turned her head to look at me, the fear in her grew considerably. She was scared I'd get hurt. "Bella, get out of here! Quick!"

I backed away from the massacre I was witnessing and I crashed into something cold and very hard. A female voice purred from behind me. "Now, now, James. We can't have that, can we?" I spun around and came face to face with a woman with fiery hair and blood red eyes.

"No, Victoria, my love. I don't think we can." He sauntered towards my mother, glancing up to look at Victoria. I saw her nod once and before I could look back to see why Renée had screamed, it was muffled. James had bitten into her jugular vein and was drinking her blood. My mother was being killed, no, eaten in front of my very eyes and I could do nothing about it.

I felt a hard poke in the back. "Sit down and enjoy the show." Victoria's voice ordered me. I had no choice but to comply and watch my mother dying. Tears streamed down my face as I watched him take her life.

In some very short amount of time he pulled away and she fell to the floor lifeless. He had taken her life in all but a few minutes. I tried to control my crying but the lump in my throat was getting too big to ignore. I couldn't rein in the feeling and the sobs broke loose. I would never see her ever again because these, these cannibals had just murdered her.

In between my sobbing I heard a conversation going on between the killers. I didn't listen, there was no point but I couldn't help hearing.

"What should we do with her?" Victoria said, eying me like meat.

"Well, another wouldn't hurt, would it?" James replied. Was I next?

"Hmm. Well, I say we go back to the old rules, just for this one. Kill two, change one."

"What? You're joking, right?" Victoria was silent. "I guess not…But I couldn't stand it if she came after us."

"Her?" She was incredulous. "Look at her. She has nothing special about her. She'll just end up getting taken by the Volturi in the end._Please, _you know how much I like messing up people's lives.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt, as long as it doesn't happen again." I heard a kiss take place but the fact I was all alone was still dawning on me. There was no one here.

I felt someone close to me, very close in fact. I opened my eyes and saw Victoria inches away from my face. The sobbing broke out again and my frame shook. Whatever she wanted, she could have. I didn't care anymore.

"Bella is it?" I didn't respond. "Bella, this will hurt but it will be for the best. I can assure you." She cooed her irrelevant words at me.

"Just do it already." I mumbled, looking at the floor, knowing I would die soon.

She cupped my hand in hers and brought it to her mouth. Her shining white teeth shone in the gloomy room, like her unnatural beauty, opened, ready to bite. The only light came from the gap in the drapes that was reflected off the walls and onto their skin. I looked up into her scarlet eyes, with general curiosity taking over my thoughts.

Then she bit down and all of that was forgotten.

Fire, like nothing I'd ever felt before was engulfing me. She bit my other wrist and then moved to both sides of my neck, biting down, bringing more fire with her. The blaze in my veins was overwhelming and it felt like nothing could ever quench it. Each trip it took around my blood stream, the pain got stronger.

I was slightly aware of being picked up and carried somewhere, but I was too busy crying out for the inferno inside me to stop. I was placed down somewhere dark and for a moment I could feel the cool grass beneath me. A nanosecond later the flames were back and stronger than ever.

I had no idea what I was becoming but I was sure, this existence would be pure hell.

* * *

**A/N: **And there you have a brand new shiny story. This is just the prologue, as you can tell. It will get better when I eventually finished _Don't Forget _(Bella hit her head when she jumped, Edward comes back, she doesn't remember him. Things get a lot worse and Edward almost turns suicidal)Bella will end up in Forks with our favourite family, the Cullen's! It will take a twist because they won't know, and Edward won't know that Bella is a vampire, but **she is still his singer! **DUN DUN DUH!

Emma


	2. Slow Suicide

It would appear I'm doing lyrics now… See author not for song and artist.

_Oh yeah, this is slow suicide,  
Feelings that I can't disguise,  
And never will be reconciled,  
Oh something inside has died._

* * *

_'Throughout the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons there is no figure so terrible, no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet looked upon with such fearful fascination, as the vampire, who is himself, nether ghost nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both.'_

I looked at the words that had shown up on the ancient computer screen. Had I really become a vampire?

Yes, I could tell that Victoria and James were defiantly vampires. They murdered my mother and step father by drinking their blood. Their eyes reflected their diet and they would sparkle in the sun. Oh, and they bit me. All the same, I didn't feel like a _creature _that possessed the qualities found in both demons and ghosts. I actually felt normal.

I didn't burn in the sun. I didn't go out hunting humans. I didn't sleep in coffins. I didn't sleep at all which was one of the reasons I was up at four in the morning on a school night. The other reason was pure curiosity. After my change, I didn't feel any need to kill a human which was why I had ended up at my father's house in Forks, Washington. I was sent to live with him because he was my only other living relative. Luckily for me, those few days back in Phoenix were very cloudy, matching my mood and saving myself from becoming a science autopsy.

Despite everything, I couldn't help but be inquisitive about my change and what came with it. Most of the time, things were the same. I was still the same clumsy girl that would trip over her own feet if she wasn't paying attention. I would still end up flat on my face whether I liked it or not. It was just like that and I knew that when I was human, because I certainly wasn't one anymore. I'd stepped out into the sun once and my skin started to glow and sparkle like diamonds. I found that I had strength and that things wouldn't hurt me so much, like falling, which I tended to do often. I hadn't felt any ravenous hunger overcome me and my eyes were still the same shade as before, matching my boring brown hair. I was plain, and it was as simple as that.

That was why I was so worried. I didn't know if I was a true vampire. Charlie had got me into the local high school and I didn't know if I would jump out and attack a student. I didn't want to kill people, it was wrong. You don't get told that as a child, you just know. It stays with you for the rest of your life, or at least, you hope it does. I wasn't leading a normal life anymore and I didn't know what tomorrow, or rather today would bring.

I didn't think it would annoy me, not being able to sleep but after a while, I found I had absolutely nothing to do. I just didn't get tired anymore. As much as I'd like to fall into a peaceful sleep where I wasn't constantly worrying whether I would kill someone or traumatized by images of my mother dying and Phil in a bloody heap on the floor, I couldn't. Sleep was the one thing I craved and missed the most from my human life. Lack of slumber kept me up, quite literally at night. I had read every book in my bookshelf and the internet would keep getting boring. I couldn't go down and watch some TV because it would wake Charlie and I couldn't go out because Charlie could wake up and wonder where I was.

So, each night I was stuck in my room with a deadly slow computer, books I could read by heart and myself, wide awake. This was one of those nights and I'd decided to work out if I could find out a little more about myself.

Forks was a very quiet and a very wet town. It rained almost constantly and even though I missed the sun, I was glad for the protection of clouds. News spread like wildfire. That was one of the reasons I was dreading the next upcoming hours. If people found out I wasn't _normal_ I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably end up running from the main office as fast as I could. On the other hand, I didn't know if I could handle people staring at me, whispering things that I could hear. The other bonus from the change was heightened senses and you'd think that would help my balance but nope. Even when I was human I would get completely nervous if anyone started looking at me. I was totally plain too, guys didn't show any interest in me but maybe that was because they had seen me go through the hormone stage. Maybe this would be a new start.

By the time the sun rose, I was sitting on my rocking chair resting my head against my right knee. It was around that time when I realised I was meant to be in bed. Charlie would check up on me when he knew it was time for me to get up. He had to get up early himself because of his job at the police station but I think he would freak if he found out his daughter could never sleep and became a disco ball in the sun. Of course, it wasn't only him. Anyone would.

It was warm most of the time and occasionally I would stay in my bed when I noticed the cold but that wasn't often. I could go out in a bikini – not that I would at all. I just didn't work with bikinis and they didn't work with me. We had a good mutual, distant relationship and I wanted to keep it that way – and I wouldn't feel a change in temperature. I heard a knock at my door and I rolled over to see Charlie step into my room.

"Hey Bells, I was just coming to wake you. Glad to see you up, it's time for school."

I smiled at him. "Thanks dad." He closed the door behind him. My father had still loved my mother but he let her go because he cared for her more than anything. He wanted her happy. When he was told I'm sure he almost broke down and even now I could see it tearing him apart. He didn't show it but sometimes I heard him crying at night. I cried too, but again, that wasn't in front of him. We liked our privacy and that was why he was so easy to live with.

I jumped out of bed and dived into my wardrobe pulling out a dark pair of jeans and a white jumper with some brown boots that went up to just below my knee. I wanted to make a good impression, even if I would get stared at. It was an odd combination.

I heard my dad call a 'bye' up the stairs which I returned just as loud. Because he was Chief Police Officer of Forks he had a very, very random work schedule and would get called out at any time. So, that left me with time on my hands and when ever that happened to me, my mind would relax into itself and start prodding me with images I didn't want to see.

Grabbing a bowl of cereal from the kitchen, I slumped down into the wooden chair. Charlie had never been, how shall I put it, graceful in the kitchen. Before I got to Forks he had been living off of take aways or just taking something when he was out. After living with my mother, I had no choice but to learn how to cook. Her crazy, weekly obsessions left me with no choice. And besides, it was fun.

Somehow or other, he had got his hands on a car for me. Totally free and okay, it was a little old but at least I didn't have to be dropped off in a cruiser each day for school. That small hitch was worth it. Charlie had gotten it from an old friend of his, Billy Black. When I was younger, Charlie and Billy would often go fishing – they still did – and bring Billy's children and me along. I would normally play with his daughters but he also had a younger son called Jacob. The car was in fact a truck. An old 1953 red Chevrolet pick up truck. It had somehow got the name '_The Thing'_ and it had attitude. I liked it.

It was also where I was heading to now.

The school was easy to find. Forks was a small town and everything was basically off the main road. Charlie had given me no genuine directions on how to get to the school and I almost had to turn around when I only just saw the sign that said 'Forks High School'.

I parked in front of the building that had a small sign near it that said 'FRONT OFFICE'. I was bound to get instructions once inside and it was better than driving around in circles in the rain.

Inside was warmer than expected, though I had to say I didn't mind. Only the wet bothered me and that came as a package with Forks. You couldn't escape it. The room was small and had bright orange carpet, certificates and awards lining the walls and a large clock that ticked loudly. The room was cut short by a big table – stacked with documents and enough paper to fill most of the Amazon – where a woman sat, engrossed in a book.

She looked up and I didn't miss how her eyes bulged. "Can I help you?"

"Um, I'm Isabella Swan." I saw the comprehension flicker in her eyes.

"Oh yes!" She started to dig in the piles of paper that sat next to her. "How are you finding Forks, Isabella?"

"Bella," I corrected automatically. "It's a little wetter than Phoenix but it's nice."

She smiled after the tower of papers was done trying to fall over. "I'd imagine so. Now, this is your schedule and a map of the school." She pulled up a few sheets, handed them to me to look at and then went into explain where each classes were, the best routes to each classroom and gave me a slip for each teacher to sign. She hoped I liked it here and would enjoy the school. I smiled at her and went out into the rain.

Other students had started to arrive so I jumped back into my truck, getting over the fact that it sounded like it literally roared and followed the traffic. I was glad to see I wasn't the only one with an old car. Nothing too flashy or pricy. No Porches or Mercedes. There was only a silver Volvo that stood out as the nicest in the parking lot.

Trying to memorize the map so I wouldn't be clutching it all day, I made my way to block 3 with my first lesson. English with Mason. The school was quite small so I didn't think I'd have much of a problem finding my way. It was less than half the size of my old school.

When I entered the classroom, people stopped what they were doing to look up at me. Something I was prepared for but I still blushed. He gaped when he saw me and that gape grew when he saw my name – not exactly encouraging – and of course, my face was practically a tomato now. However he sent me to the back of the class, to an empty desk, with no introduction to the class. I was glad. I kept my eyes down as I felt eyes on me. Mr. Mason handed us a list of the books we had to read this year. Mainly classics, but a few modern books thrown in. It aggravated me to no end that I had read them all. It was clear English would be boring to say the least.

The bell rang, making my head ring. I still needed to get used to the heightened senses and the slightest loud noise would give me a headache. I began collecting my things into my bag when I boy came up to me. He looked like the chess club type.

"Are you Isabella Swan?"

"Bella," I corrected and everyone turned to look at me. I wondered how many more times I'd have to do that today.

"Where's your next class?"

I pulled out my timetable from my bag. "Um, Government with Jefferson, in building six."

"I'm headed to building four. I could show you the way… I'm Eric."

I smiled, hoping he would go away. "Thanks."

Donning our jackets, we started walking through the puddles towards our next classes. My conscience was telling me that building four was no where near building six. I suppressed a sigh.

"So, this is different to Phoenix, is it?"

"Yep."

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

"Not a lot, no."

"Wow, what's that like?"

"Warm and sunny." This guy was supposed to be clever or was that just me getting my stereotypes mixed up?

"You don't look tanned."

"My mother was part albino." I mentally cringed as I made the joke. The one piece of information I wanted to keep to myself and I had given it away to the first person who introduced themselves.

He studied my face apprehensively and I was relieved when he didn't seem to notice my slip up.

"Well, good luck in there. Jefferson's meant to be hell." I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe we'll have another class together." I smiled and went inside the room.

The rest of the morning passed in a flash. Only my Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, made me introduce myself which caused me a blushing fit and to trip over my boots as I went to my seat. I recognised more and more people as the classes went on. A few people would come up and introduce themselves and ask how I liked Forks. I didn't need the map once because people – mainly boys to my utter astonishment – would walk me to my next class.

When lunch came around, the girl I sat next to in Trig and Spanish walked with me to the cafeteria. She was a few inches shorter than me but her curly hair made up for it. I didn't remember her name but I mumbled my 'mmm's and 'yeses' as she drivelled on about teachers. I wasn't looking to make friends straight away but at least I would have somewhere to sit. We went to sit at a virtually full table, where I was introduced her friends and I forgot their names as fast as they came out of her mouth, though I did notice Eric from earlier, wave at me from across the room.

It was there, in the midst of strangers I'd met only once, not knowing what to say or what to do, where I saw them.

There were five of them, each not talking, not eating though they had trays of food in front of them. They had sat as far away from anyone else as possible. They weren't staring at me with their eyes wide open and matching mouths, almost drooling, so I took the chance to look at them. They were all so drastically different. There were three boys; one was big, muscled with dark curly hair. Another was leaner with honey blonde hair. The last was lanky – perhaps the youngest – with boyish looks and messy, bronze coloured hair.

The girls were the opposite. There was a tall blonde, like she would be a model when she was older. She had a perfect figure, as if you should have seen her on a magazine somewhere and as she walked past you, your self esteem would knock down a notch. Her hair was golden and fell down her back in waves. The other girl was small and looked a little pixy like with her deep black hair that pointed in every direction.

They were undeniably beautiful in their own unique way. Unique but so similar at the same time. Each of them was chalky pale, paler than me, and they all had the same dark eyes regardless of their hair colour. They also had dark shadows under their eyes like they were having sleepless nights, or getting over a broken nose, even though their noses were perfect. I couldn't decide which was the most stunning – the blonde girl or the bronze haired boy maybe.

That was not why I couldn't look away.

I could not look away because I knew instinctively that they were vampires. Each of them, with their inhuman good looks and striking features were so obviously _not _human it amazed me they were even in a school. And what were they doing in a school anyway?! Purposely hand picking their next meal?

I turned to the girl – whose name I thankfully remembered was Jessica – and asked a question that was burning on my lips. "Who are _they_?" I was surprised it didn't come out like a strangled gargle. She looked up to see who I meant and the bronze haired boy looked at her and then at me.

He looked away faster than I could, though as the blood rushed to my face in a fit of embarrassment. I looked down instantly. His eyes showed no interest in me. It was as if Jessica had called his name and he had chosen not to answer her. Only to look up and say he had heard.

Jessica giggled. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen and they all live with Dr. Cullen and his wife." I glanced at the bronze haired boy again. He was ripping his bagel apart with slender fingers. I was lucky to get one of those room silences to here what he was saying. He was whispering about Jessica 'filling the new Swan girl in on the Cullen clan'. I frowned slightly as my gaze flew past the youngest again.

They all sounded old, well, old names, like they were from another time or era. I probably wasn't wrong either. I didn't know the life expectancy of a vampire, or if they had them. My body had been frozen and I hadn't had my time of the month. I wasn't pregnant, that I could be sure of and it was the only logical answer. Even if I wasn't an actual vampire – yet.

"They are very…" I searched for a word that wouldn't make it sound like I was repulsed so I used the only thing that came to mind. "Nice looking."

Jessica giggled again, loudly near my ear. "Yes! They're all_together_ though. Emmett and Rosalie and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they _live_ together." She sounded shocked, though to me who knew the truth, it sounded right. If they were a coven they would live together.

"Which ones are the Cullens? They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales _are _brother and sister, twins – the blondes – and they're foster children."

I played along. It was best. "They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something." I had to admit, it made sense. They'd planned it well.

"That's really nice of them – for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so…" I got the impression she didn't like them too much, which, to be honest, she shouldn't. I mean, they would attack her if she got too close. "I think that Mrs Cullen can't have kids though." Well, of course not if she was a vampire!

My eyes were constantly flicking to where they sat, taking in everything they were doing. "Have they always lived in Forks?"

"No, they moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

I felt relieved. They may have tried to blend in with the humans but they clearly weren't accepted. They were disturbingly beautiful, and I, well, I was normal.

The youngest Cullen looked up again, gazing at me curiously, as if I didn't meet his expectations. I swiftly dodged his eyes. "Which is the boy with the reddish-brown hair?" I looked through my hair at him. He was still looking at me, with a frustrated look on his perfect face.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good enough for him," she sniffed and I tried picturing her asking him out. I bit my lip to hide my smile and looked over to him again, seeing he was doing the same. After a while, the four got up to leave the crowded lunch hall. Edward didn't look at me again, and somehow I was calmed.

A girl named Angela, who I'd met earlier, had Biology II with me so we walked together. She was quiet and it was nice not to constantly have to answer questions and think about the group of vampires and what they were doing in a school. I mean didn't anyone notice that people went missing? That students were killed?

Angela went to sit at one of the lab tables that I was used to from Phoenix. All the tables were filled but one. That one being next to Edward Cullen with his unusual bronze coloured hair.

I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, he went ridged and I almost froze. As I passed him he glared at me with such hatred I ended up blushing and tripping over. A girl next to me laughed.

His eyes were pitch black and I knew exactly where I'd seen that before. I shuddered as the memories of that fateful day dug themselves up.

Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book, not bothering to get me to introduce myself to the class seeing as he guessed they all knew something about me. He had no choice but to send me next to the vampire that seemed to despise me with a passion. So, I went to sit by _him,_ dead heart thumping in my chest.

I didn't look up as I took my seat, afraid I'd do something to anger him and that was something I really didn't want to do. I saw him lean away from me like I smelled, sitting on the edge of his chair and turning his head away from me. I sniffed my hair, I didn't smell bad. Quite nice, I had washed my hair with my favourite strawberry shampoo the night before so I didn't see any reason for him to hate me because I _smelled._ It had to be something different, maybe vampire related. Come to think of it, I didn't know how to great a vampire or even if there was one. What if I'd offended him? Would his coven kill me? I moved my hair over my shoulder to block him out.

Mr. Banner started the lesson but I couldn't concentrate. Edward Cullen was still glaring at me, like I was the spawn of Satan – which, as I vampire, I think I could be considered as but then again, so could he – or like I had done something so terrible, I could never be forgiven. I hoped it was the first.

The class seemed to take forever, perhaps because I was waiting for him to relax but he never did. The whole lesson his hand was bunched into a fist. He looked a lot more intimidating that from across the lunch room. I dreaded to think what it would be like next to Emmett, the muscled one.

I peeked at him once more and he was still glaring down at me. At that moment, the bell rang and he stood quickly, but because of my change I was used to the speed. He grabbed his belongings and I knew I had to at least, try and make up whatever I did. I did want to be alive as possible tomorrow.

But he was gone.

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" A male voice asked me.

I looked up to see a pale blonde boy with blue eyes. "Bella."

"I'm Mike."

"Hi, Mike."

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."

"That's my next class too." He said it with such happiness I wasn't sure whether to smile back or just run for the hills.

He chatted away and I found out he used to live in California till he was ten so he knew – but not perfectly – how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was also in my English class and was the nicest person I'd met all day.

"So," he began. "Did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that.

I winced. It seemed I wasn't the only one who noticed Edward's angry behaviour. I played dumb.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?"

"Yes," Mike replied. "He looked like he was in pain or something."

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I didn't speak to him."

"He's a weird guy. If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you." I smiled. _I'm sure you would, Mike._ I took back what I said about him being nice. He was just over-clingy.

Coach Clapp found me a uniform but didn't make me change. I was glad, the last thing I wanted was more gossip going around that the new girl was a klutz before it was necessary. PE was compulsory for all years, unlike back home. I really was glad now. Watching all the games only made me remember how much pain I could cause on a tennis court or football pitch. I shuddered.

The bell rang and I made my way to the front office, with my hood up to avoid all the rain. When I got there I almost walked out again.

Edward Cullen was in a heated argument with the receptionist from his morning. His voice was low and attractive and he hadn't noticed me coming in. He was trying to get her to change his timetable. He wanted to change his sixth hour Biology lesson to another time – any other time without me. I couldn't believe he hated me that much. I hadn't said a word to him and all of a sudden he was trying to get away from me as fast as possible.

The door opened again and the cool air gushed through the room, pulling scents with it and immediately, he stiffened, turning slowly to face me. Face me and glare at me with his absurdly handsome face with ferocious eyes. The look only lasted a second but I was left with pure fear.

"Never mind, then" Edward said quickly "I can see it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."

He turned to leave without a sideways glance at me and I realised I had to set things right with him, whether it was my fault or not, he had some unexplained detestation with me. I needed to set it right. No matter what happened, I needed to sort it out. His whole coven would probably come after me if I didn't and Charlie didn't need that. Nor did I need that.

"I'm sorry Edward." He was at the door when I whispered my apology but stopped when he heard it. He turned to look at me with cold, black eyes that gave off a feeling of confusion. He then flinched and fled to the outside world.

I slowly made my way towards the desk, pale instead of blushing.

"How did your first day go, dear?"

"Fine," I lied.

I just didn't know if I would see morning.

* * *

**A/N:**Ah, she is a silly Bella.  
She just has no idea what she actually is and I do. -smirks- She is a vampire but because of her human traits she doesn't know what to believe. She knows she's not human but she also knows she's not like Victoria. I am **sticking to the Twilight storyline** as much as I can, changing only what I need to. The next chapter will be slightly different. Bella will live to see another day, do not worry. It wouldn't be much of a story if I killed her in the next chapter would it? 

Let me clear some things up. Bella is a vampire and to all of those wondering her gift is complex and will get Edward really confused. I'm good. 8)  
I just couldn't help but write this, even if it is really long (10 pages long!) _Don't Forget_ is completely finished so I'm free to write this.

Emma

PS: The lyrics are from **Burn Baby Burn** by **Ash** (In no relation to Disco Inferno… -rolls eyes-)


	3. Heart Open

I'm Starting Up A Competition; See Author Note for Details.

I forgot my disclaimer on the last chapter so here it is:  
**I do not own any of the characters; they all belong to Stephenie Meyer.**  
And here are this chapter's lyrics:

_I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut,  
My weakness is that I care too much,  
And my scars remind me that the past is real,  
I tear my heart open just to feel._

* * *

The next day was better – a lot better than what I thought it would be.

Edward Cullen was not at school. I did _not_ get death glares from the deadly attractive vampire who wanted to kill me. I was a lot more relaxed around in the cafeteria and I started up a few conversations of my own. I didn't particularly want to get too involved in people encase my vampire side decided to show it's face but I did want to be accepted. I didn't want to be pushed away like the Cullens and Hales. Mike was still just as clingy and Jessica was still just as talkative, though I did find I was becoming friends with Angela. She could tell when you didn't want to talk about things and when you did. She knew how to avoid touchy subjects – one of those subjects being my mother and the reason why I moved. I didn't need more gossip than necessary.

In my sleepless night, I had concluded that I was definitely a vampire. I had marks under my eyes to prove it. Yes, I was a vampire but I was an odd one. And odd was probably the understatement of the century. I mean, honestly, who ever heard of a vampire that didn't drink blood? I was an outrage…probably. The only vampires I could compare myself to were the Cullens and Hales and even they were a little peculiar. Peculiar in the way that they chose to be around humans when they could be elsewhere. They chose to push themselves to their limit of control.

The Cullens and Hales were actually at Forks High School – only Edward was missing from the group – and it seemed like they went about their lessons in peace. From what Jessica could tell me, they were the perfect pupils, envied by all, not only for their good looks but for their ideal grades. 'All A-star students' to use her term. I was trying my best to learn a little more about them each day but I couldn't just go up to people and say 'you know the Cullens, do you think you could tell me _everything_ you know about them?' No, I was already a little too strange as it was… I was trying to fit in, not become a freak.

Besides, at least I _was_ fitting in. Edward hadn't been into school for a whole week. My weekend was uneventful, just doing the washing and getting on with homework with the occasional pondering of my new life. Homework that was too easy for sense. It had started to snow this morning and although I didn't feel it as much, it still annoyed me.

"Bella," Jessica had started talking. I had got to know her well as well as Angela. She was a good friend when she wanted to be but you didn't want to get on her bad side. Lauren hadn't spoken much and if they were directed at me they were all spiteful and unkind. "Bella," she repeated. "It's time for lunch. C'mon, the queue'll be a mile long by the time we get there."

I smiled and followed the chatty girl into the cafeteria, into the lunch line. My eyes glanced over to the table that I tried to keep away from and did a head could. One, two, three, four, five. Fine, Edward wasn't in again. Wait, five? I hastily looked away. He _was _in. The last thing I needed was Edward to glare at me with those cold, black eyes.

"Hello? Bella? What do you want?" Jessica pulled my arm.

My eyes shot to the floor; my ears were burning up. I had no reason to feel awkward. I had done nothing wrong what so ever.

"What's wrong with Bella?" I heard Mike ask in front of Jessica.

"Nothing, I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end on the queue.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick."

I hadn't looked up from my feet and I wasn't planning on when they got their lunch. I was afraid I would look at the Cullens and he would give that fierce look again. It scared me almost as much as Victoria and James.

I sipped my soda with my stomach feeling like the _Titanic_. I was wondering whether I should just skip my next lesson…But where would that get me. He would still be there the next day and it wouldn't help get anywhere. I couldn't avoid him forever.

I gave myself one glance at the Cullen table. If he was still glaring I would skip Biology. If not I would go. It was a fair deal.

The boys were laughing, shaking their wet hair at the girls, trying to get them wet while they turned away in disgust. They seemed to be enjoying the snowy weather – only they looked like they were shooting a scene in a movie rather than school children. The boys' wet hair made them look like models instead of teens.

But there was something else than that. Something different about them all. They all seemed to look a little less pale than before – Edward especially. He seemed to look a little more human, slightly flushed and the circles under his eyes were hardly evident. But even with that, there was something more.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica broke me from my stance, following to look where my eyes were directed.

At that exact moment Edward's eyes met my own.

I dropped my head, letting my hair block him out. He didn't look angry or harsh like before. Merely curious of frustrated, and I could live with that if I didn't have his glares on me.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica's giggle rang through my ears and around my head.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help but ask because I couldn't meet his gaze again.

"No, should he be?" She sounded confused but that was no match for what I was feeling.

"I don't think he likes me." I confessed, even thinking about it made me feel sick. I lay my head on my arm.

"The Cullens don't like anybody…well, they don't notice anyone enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him." I hissed, vampire tendencies taking over.

She snickered but looked away. I raised my head to see if she really did and oh, how thankful I was. I didn't know my own strength but I was going to resort to violence if she didn't. I didn't want my first kill in a school and I was going to put it off for as long as I could. But I knew I couldn't. There was a slight burning in the back of my throat that wouldn't go away, no matter how many times I drank water or tried medicine – it was then I found out medicine does not work me – it wouldn't leave.

Anyway, Mike, as usual, interrupted us and started explaining his plan to have an epic snowball fight in the parking lot after school. Jessica agreed straight away and I got the feeling by the way she looked at him, that she would be up for whatever he said. I kept silent, trying to avoid getting too wet. I'd have to work on an escape plan later. Wet wasn't good.

Lunch came and went and I didn't look back up at them. Since his eyes were not what they were the week before it seemed I was going to my next lesson. And who was walking with me? Mike, of course.

I really didn't want to walk with him. Besides the fact he had irritated me to no end in the past week he was also a popular target for snowballs. Another reason to avoid him. I was close to making a list. However, to my complete and utter joy, it was raining. Not that I actually liked the rain, it was just a lot better than snow. Yes, snow is dry for a while but then in melts in your shoes and your feet start going numb in cold water.

But, as always, everything comes at a price and I had to listen to Mike drone on about how it wasn't fair and how his master plan was ruined. I couldn't care less.

As we entered the classroom, I sighed silently with relief. Edward hadn't arrived yet and Mr. Banner was still getting ready for the class to start. I idly pulled out my notebook and started doodling until he called my peers together. I heard the chair move lightly but didn't look up. I knew exactly who it was but I stayed focused on the scribble in front of me.

"Hello," I heard his musical voice for the first time and I was sure my dead heart would restart and die all over.

He was _talking_ to me. I almost flinched in shock. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk would allow him but he had turned his chair so he was facing me. His hair was a messy array and it looked like he had just stepped out of the shower. There was a small, friendly smile on his lips but his eyes were cautious.

"My name is Edward Cullen, I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

My mind was spinning. Had I made that up? No, that wasn't possible. His dark eyes were burned under my eyelids.

"H-how do you know my name?" He laughed. It was soft and captivating. Unbelievable.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive." He smiled down at me again. _Of course_, the whole of Forks had been waiting for my arrival. Waiting to see the famous Chief's daughter. I was as good as a celebrity.

"No," I said. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?" Normally, I had to correct everyone. Then again, normally your lab partner wasn't a vampire. And normally you weren't one either.

"Do you prefer Isabella?" He frowned in confusion.

"No, I like Bella," I sucked a breath in, not daring to break eye contact with this god – like creature. "But I think Charlie – I mean my dad – must call me Isabella behind my back – that's what everyone here seems to know me as."

"Oh," he let it drop. Of course he did, I was rambling. He hated me last lesson and now I expected him to just start up a conversation on what books we had read, what music we liked?

Mr. Banner started the lesson then, pulling me away from my idiocy. I tried to concentrate as much as I possible but I couldn't get my head around the fact that we had just had a relatively average conversation. He wasn't shooting daggers at me and I wasn't trying to avoid him at all costs. Perhaps overly jumpy and nervous but it seemed to be going well. The task was simple, we had to look at slides of onion root tip cells and decide what stage of mitosis they were in.

Edward turned to me, a small smile playing around his lips but his eyes told me different. They seemed very tense. "Ladies first, partner?"Wait, he was actually giving me a choice or even the option if I wanted to start first… or at all?

He frowned. "Or I could start, if you wish."

"No," I said, blushing deeply, not daring to look in his eyes. "I'll go ahead."

I could feel his eyes on me as I place the slide under the microscope. Slowly, my blush started to fade and I took a glance at the cell.

"Do you mind if I look?" He asked after I declared it prophase. I shook my head and went to move the slide but so did he. His hand grabbed mine and it felt… strangely cool, not unpleasantly but oddly comforting. About the temperature of a fridge and soothing really. But I jumped anyway, not because of the temperature of his hand, which was expected. I jumped because of the electricity that coursed around our hands as we touched. We both instinctively jerked away, still smoothly, trying to act as if nothing had happened. He looked through the eye piece.

"Prophase," he agreed. He wrote it neatly in an elegant script, it looked very old, that could only come from strict discipline. It looked like it was from another century, come to think of it; he probably was from another century. He took the next slide, stated it Anaphase and started writing it down.

"May I?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent. I prayed I didn't do whatever I did yesterday to anger him.

He smirked and pushed the microscope towards me. I saw he was right, and asked for the third slide. He placed it gingerly into my hand, careful not to touch me again. Was I that repulsive? I dismissed the thought from my mind. We worked back and forth this way, swapping the slides and passing the microscope around. When we were done, I took a quick glance at the clock, wondering what we were going to do for the rest of the class. Everyone else was passing around slides, with looks of total confusion on their faces. A few even had text books under their desks. What was so hard about comparing slides?

I felt his eyes on me again. I met them with mine and blurted out a question. "Did you get contacts?" There was something totally different about his eyes. They weren't red or black.

Gold.

He looked totally confused. "No."

"Oh, I thought there was something different about your eyes." I knew he was lying but I didn't need to contradict him. Confusion would lead to anger which would lead to my possible death – both vampire and human.

Mr. Banner came over, wondering why we had stopped working all of a sudden. "So, Edward, didn't you think that Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?"

"Bella" he corrected quickly. I was touched by the thought he cared how I was addressed. "Actually, she identified three of the five"

Mr. Banner looked at me, sceptically, sizing me up. "Have you done this lab before?"

"Not with onion root"

"Whitefish Blastula?"

"Yeah"

"Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"

"Yes"

"Well," he said after a moment. "It's good you to are lab partners" and then he walked off just like that. Not another word and I was left with the vampire. I had concluded I didn't get along well with other vampires, vampires in general.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?"

He was trying small talk. Edward was making an effort…

"Not really" I answered sheepishly.

"You don't like the cold." He stated it, it wasn't a question and I wondered how much he knew.

"Or the wet."

"Forks must be a difficult place you to live."

"You have no idea," I mumbled darkly and under my breath. He heard me of course, vampire hearing.

"Why did you come here, then?"

"It's…complicated." I said dropping my eyes, trying not to let the pain come through into my words as I subconsciously stroked the silver scar on my wrist.

"I think I can keep up." He was looking at me like he cared what I said. It wasn't small talk, he was actually trying to get to know me.

I thought about the past month. I had come home from school, ready to do homework and avoid my mother's hysterical hobbies and found my step dad dead by my feet and had to watch my mother being killed by vampires. Vampires who then decided they were going to change me into one too.

Tears were rolling down my eyes and blurring my vision. Edward looked appalled next to me, probably wondering if I was mental or diagnosed with a disorder.

Mr. Banner heard my quiet sobbing. "Cullen, take her outside to calm down. Now."

I was dimly aware of someone holding onto my elbows, helping me out of my seat and a cool arm around my shoulder. All the eyes class were on us – or rather me for bursting out in hysterical sobbing in the middle of a Biology class. _What a way to settle in, Bella… The whole school will think you're crazy, and it's not exactly helping with the coven situation…_

I tried desperately to tune out my conscience but when I tried I couldn't. My sobs were incredibly loud and when we got out into the hall they echoed off the walls. I fell against one of them and sunk down, weeping into my knees. To my utter shock, Edward joined me on the dirty floor.

"I…I'm sorry Edward. I'm just over reacting."

"Your not. I shouldn't have asked…"

I sniffed. "I suppose I should tell you now. I've caused all of this mess that got us sent outside."

"Don't feel like you have to, Bella. If I had known you would have cried… I wouldn't have asked. I shouldn't have –"

"No, I want to tell you. Someone would have asked me anyway." I sniffed again, collecting my thoughts and taking in a deep shaky breath. "I used to live in Phoenix and it was a normal day when I came back from school. Normal until I got into the front room…" I took another shaky breath. "And I found my step dad dead at my mother about to be attacked. The two there – a man and a woman – made me watch as they killed her. The next thing I knew, I was in a cluster of trees in the local park."

The tears came gushing out again and Edward had a look of sympathy, understanding and self – loathing on his face. He had no reason to hate himself, I was the one who should have done something to stop them attacking. He pulled me into his arms and I couldn't help but feel so astonishingly safe. It felt right to be with him and for a moment I forgot why I was crying.

He rubbed circles into my back and sometimes muttered my name and things like 'shhh' so I could hear. He had no reason to care about me, and I certainly did not expect him to like me after what happened last week, let alone comfort me.

When I had gained some control over my emotions I became acutely aware of how close he was holding me. "Thank you – for everything."

"Not a problem," he said with such sincerity I had to fight back more tears.

And as if to break up the perfect moment, the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson and the end of our embrace. Incredibly reluctantly, I pulled myself out of his arms.

"I should be getting to class," he said and I nodded, not daring to meet his eyes on the off chance I blushed.

"Bye Edward."

"Goodbye Bella."

I felt my insides melt as my name rolled off his lips. The class had been dismissed and I watched, for as long as I could, his retreating figure. The throng of students was slowly becoming a crowd and I was dimly aware of Mike talking about how if he sat next to me he wouldn't have made me cry. I ignored him, only trying to catch a last glimpse of the arms I knew I would miss maybe forever. I didn't know if that would happen again or what tomorrow would bring or if this was just him taking pity on me. I slowly let my eyes shut, trying to find the memory of his scent.

A loud clicking noise alerted me to Mike's presence. My eyes alerted me to how close his head was to my face. I took a step back. "Earth to Bella!" He dropped his hand that had clicked near my face beforehand.

"Sorry, what were you saying Mike?"

"I was saying we have to get to Gym. Coach Clapp will make us do laps if we don't leave now!"

"Um, sure, let's go."

I still couldn't shake the feeling of how right it felt in his arms. That feeling followed me until I was home, and even then it didn't leave completely.

His cool arms around me were all I needed...

* * *

**A/N:** Ch'yeah!  
I told you I was changing things, twisting Twilight if you will. Unlike in _Don't Forget,_ I do have a story arch to work with so it's not just what I feel like writing in. Still, onto my main thing in this note.

_The Competition_  
**If someone guesses what Bella's gift is before I explain it, I will personally make them a fan fiction cover** (see my profile for examples). You can have one guess per chapter and this one doesn't really give much away (thankfully...) but if you want to guess, please either post it in a review or PM me. I'll tell you if you are right or not and if you get it right, DON'T TELL! I want to keep it a mystery for as long as possible, y'know. Still, I doubt you'll get it this chapter so...get thinking... Keep in mind the whole Edward element and why he's all '_Nooooo, teh bloodz!_' and all (yeah, you like my lol cat speak ;) bwahahahaha). Still, think about it.

Emma

PS: The lyrics from above are from the song **Scars** by **Papa Roach**.


	4. She's Breaking

_He doesn't want her but he just won't let her go,  
She started breaking but she still won't let it show._

* * *

When the sun finally decided it was time to rise, I could see it was a lot lighter than yesterday. I blanked for a second and sprung up – narrowly avoiding _Pride and Prejudice_ that had fallen onto the floor somewhere in the middle of the night – and made my way to the window. 

A thick layer of white covered everything it could. The blindingly white snow sat on all of the trees that had been green the day before, on the top of my truck and all over the ground and grass. I eyed the icy road fearfully. The ground didn't like me and ice would just make everything even worse. I didn't want to count how many times I would meet the floor.

Today would not be good. That was clear.

Charlie had another early start, I had heard him leave around five and it was around then I had started to breathe again. His blood wasn't making me thirsty or anything like that but the burning in my throat had gotten a lot worse over night. I was just being cautious. Water – as many times as I tried – wouldn't quench it, medicine as I had discovered before would not work and even my new tactic, cough sweets, hadn't worked. I had run out of options.

Groggily, I changed for school and tripped my way down the stars. If one thing had to go with the change I would have wanted it to be the falling. Not that it hurt any more, it was just irritating. Pouring milk over my cereal, I grabbed a spoon from the cutlery draw and my mind drifted again. It was just one of those problems. When I didn't have anything specifically productive for my mind to do it would wonder to things that were dangerous to think about. Dangerous in the way that if I thought about them for too long I would break down into tears – one of those thoughts being Phoenix – or a small smile would creep onto my face. In all honesty, I shouldn't have been thinking of Edward when there was still the chance he would kill me but the conversation we had the day before and how he felt the need to comfort me was engraved in my mind. Most of the time it was all I could think about in the night but it was a welcome difference from the images that I would normally see.

I looked up at the clock that hung above the bread bin I realised my day dreaming was going to make me late. I swung my bag onto my bag and ran cautiously but as fast as I could towards my truck without tripping.

The road was surprisingly easy to drive on but then again most things were easy now because I was a vampire. I could see the ice clearly on the road as easily as I could see the snow under the canopy in the Hoh forest as I sped down the road. Living near the edge of town was fine but annoying when you were running late.

I pulled into the parking lot after avoiding running over a student for not looking where he was walking. Getting out, I noticed something silver on the back wheels. Clinging onto the side of my truck whilst, well, sliding I suppose, down to the end of my truck. I had picked the iciest part of the lot to park on but the snow chains that were attached explained why it was so easy to park. It actually shocked me that Charlie would do this for me and I didn't want to think about how early he had gotten up to put them on. I could have done it myself on my own and it would have given me something to do at night. My chest was full of emotion but it was only when the screeching of breaks started that I realised something was happening around me.

To my right, four cars away, Edward Cullen stood in the sea of faces with shock masking each and every one of them. To my left was a dark blue truck spinning terrifyingly fast across the black icy ground. I knew I should move but my feet felt glued to the ground. If I had moved I probably would have gotten out of the way in time but… I couldn't. It was coming straight for my truck and I was in the way. I snapped my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact of metal on my body.

It never came.

Instead the cool touch that hadn't left my mind since his touch did was suddenly enveloped around me. My eyes flew open and I could see Edward pinning me underneath his weight as the van hit my truck. Our eyes met and a silent conversation passed between us. He pulled himself away from me and focused his attention on the consistently moving van that was about to hit me again. I heard him swear from near the van as he held out his hands to stop it getting near me. It groaned as he lifted the right side a little. Edward turned quickly and grabbed my legs, pulling me away from the navy vehicle so it seemed I wasn't in so much danger. He came to kneel by me, his face was guarded but his eyes expressed all his anxiousness. I could see that clearly.

"Bella? Are you all right?" he asked in an apprehensively perfect voice.

"Perfectly," I said with fake sweetness.

I tried to sit up but he pushed me down. "Careful, I think you hit your head pretty hard."

"I have –"

Abruptly, a swarm of people rushed around the van, calling for people to get Tyler out which stopped me short. I had no idea who he was but eying the growing amount of people surrounding us and asking questions, I would get to know him soon. Edward hadn't been too careful when he moved the van so I hoped the boy was okay. However, Edward's attention was on me. He had a calculating look. I tried asking him again.

"I do have a few questions, you know."

A small frown showed itself on his flawless face. "Yes."

"You were over there. You were by your car."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes you were, I saw you. Remember?"

"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way."

"No you weren't."

"Please, Bella."

"Why?"

"Do I have to answer your questions here?"

I thought about this. Talking about inhuman things in the middle of a school parking lot was probably not the best plan. "No, but I do want answers." I heard him sigh out in relief but then his body tensed. "What is it? You just tensed up, why?"

He looked incredulous. "You saw that?"

"Yes and I saw what happened." He didn't say anything, he just looked around at the other students and what was going on with Tyler's van.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath while scowling at nothing in particular.

"Are you going to answer me?" His golden eyes flashed back down to me.

"Not here."

"Okay, later."

The frown was back. "Later," he agreed sharply.

After a little while, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics had to treat everyone – including Edward and I which was quite hard to get out of. Edward bought his way out by using his _vast_ knowledge of medical science and told them that _I_ was the one who needed the most attention. If he knew I was a vampire he shouldn't really be going around to people and telling them to check for vital signs. I only got out of it because the paramedic got called away to check on Tyler with another and when he got back I said I had already been checked. Thankfully with a little persuasion it worked – for a while anyway. He came back at me with a neck brace and told me to lie down on a stretcher. When I asked why he said that Edward had told him there was a possibility of head trauma. He was obviously trying to make this harder than necessary however I had no choice but to go along with it. I was loaded into the ambulance and I heard Edward insist that he came along with me. By this time I had no idea what was going on. If he was trying to make this worse than what was only compulsory he wouldn't want to come with me. He would leave me to fend on my own in a hospital – or maybe that was it? He didn't want to go to the hospital because of all the blood.

The drive gave me time to think about what the hell happened in that single minute. He had moved faster than a human could, that was obvious. He was four cars away which meant he either jumped on top of them and leapt forward to push the van away – not likely – or he sped through the crowd and stopped it with his body… That did explain the dent in the side of the van that looked a lot like his shoulders. But nothing explained _how_ he moved so fast. Or why he did it for that matter. He had no reason to save my life and I doubt I was in that much danger. Yes, I fell a lot but that didn't strictly mean if I was hit by a something like a car I would die.

Did it?

I didn't get a lot longer to think about the answer to that question because we had come to a stop. I was taken out of the ambulance and in through the emergency entrance. Edward got to walk in like he owned the place. I was forced under an x-ray machine and thankfully that still worked as if I were a human. There was no real reason for it not to work but I still didn't know how much had changed with my change. I just knew having no pulse in a hospital wouldn't be the best thing. The nurses put me in a room with Tyler who proceeded to apologise louder than was needed. I ended up shutting my eyes trying to block out the buzzing noise he was producing.

I heard the door to the room swing open. "Is she sleeping?" Edward's smooth voice sung out and I flung my eyes open. His face was playful but I could see it was still guarded too. He smiled a crooked smile but it didn't show through in his eyes.

Tyler had found another person to pray for forgiveness to and I happily handed over the title of victim. "Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry –"

Edward cut him off by holding up his finger. "No blood. No foul." As if…

He went to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed. "So, what's the verdict?"

"There's nothing wrong with me –" _and you know that!_ "–but they won't let me go. How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"

"It's all about who you know, but don't worry. I'm here to spring you." He grinned again but I could hear someone outside the door. Dr. Cullen walked in holding some x-rays. It would have been that simple but it wasn't. My eyes went wide.

He was a vampire.

It was the most ludicrous thing I'd ever seen. A vampire who thirsted human blood working in a hospital surrounded by blood all the time. It was just as bad as the rest of them in the school, but he was only marginally better by picking the weak ones to attack. I couldn't believe it. Tyler had no idea he was in the room with three vampires.

"So, Miss Swan. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said a little sharply.

He turned the light board beside my bed on and attached the x-ray to it. "Your x-rays look good. Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."

"I'm fine, really," I repeated but not forgetting to give Edward a scowl. He looked amused with the whole conversation.

Dr. Cullen went to examine my head for any signs of injury and found none, I didn't even wince because there was no need to. Edward was watching it with worried eyes. He was probably planning to back his escape story with the fact I had concussion or something dramatic like that. A thorough check that was two times longer that what was needed – not that I'd know – Dr. Cullen told me I could leave.

"Can't I go back to school?" I asked after he told me Charlie was in the waiting room and to come back if I felt dizzy.

"Maybe you should take it easy today," he suggested.

I glanced at Edward. "Does _he_ get to go to school?"

"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," he smiled but his golden eyes were still wary.

"Actually, most of the school seems to be in the waiting room," Dr. Cullen said lightly.

"Oh no." I hid my head in my hands.

"Do you want to stay?"

"No, no!" I made to get up and nearly slipped down onto the floor. Edward and Dr. Cullen were looking tense as I collected myself. "I'm fine" I repeated for what felt like the millionth time today.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he recommended. _How I wish I could…_

"It doesn't hurt."

"It sounds like you were extremely lucky. Many others would have been off a lot worse."

"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," I scowled at him again.

"Oh, well, yes," I watched as Dr. Cullen concentrated intently on the papers he was signing. He was in on it and when I looked back to Edward, he knew I knew that his so called 'adoptive father' was in on it. More like Coven Leader. "I'm afraid _you'll_ have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said, turning to Tyler. I stormed over towards Edward.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"You father is waiting for you," he hissed while stepping back.

"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed. I wouldn't let this drop and when he turned out of the room I knew I had won. He quickly turned a corner and headed into a deserted corridor, I had no problem keeping up.

"What do you want?" His eyes were cold and dark, I wasn't expecting that.

"You owe me an explanation"

"I saved your life – I don't owe you anything"

I visibly flinched from the harshness of his words. "You promised."

"Bella, you hit your head. I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, I didn't and you know that! There's nothing wrong with my head!"

"What do you want from me, Bella?"

"I want to know the truth and why I'm lying for you."

"What do you _think_ happened?" he snapped.

It came out in a rush. "I _know_ that you were four cars away from me when Tyler's van came around the corner. He didn't see you either so don't say you were next to me again because you definitely weren't. It was going to crash into us but you stopped it with your hands. There are dents in the side of it and another in the car next to it. It should have smashed my legs but you were holding it up…"

"You think I lifted a van off you?"

"I know you did."

"Nobody will believe that, you know."

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

That caught him by surprise. "Then why does it matter?"

"It matters to me. I don't like to lie, not when I can help it – so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."

"Can't you just thank me and get over it?"

"Thank you."

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"No."

"Well, in that case…I hope you enjoy disappointment." We glared at each other in silence.

"It's not like you care if I live or die." I snapped. "Why did you even bother?"

I stormed away, fuming with all the suppressed anger I had felt from when he wouldn't answer me before.I thought I heard him whisper "But I do care…" as I walked away but I was probably just hearing what I wanted to hear.

* * *

**A/N:** -sighs- I'm having so much fun with this story.

I can't stop thinking about how clever I was to think this up and I can't wait to write the next chapter. Because, you know, that's when Bella is asked out by Eric, Mike and Tyler and it's also the chapter where Edward comes to watch her sleep... AND SHE CAN'T SLEEP! S'gunna be awesome. Here's the competition rules again but I still doubt you'll get it this time! Let me clear some more things up too. Edward thinks she's human and Bella thinks Edward knows she's a vampire... That's all I have to say on the matter. ;)

_The Competition_  
**If someone guesses what Bella's gift is before I explain it, I will personally make them a fan fiction cover** (see my profile for examples). You can have one guess per chapter and if you want to guess, please either post it in a review or PM me. I'll tell you if you are right or not and if you get it right, DON'T TELL! I want to keep it a mystery for as long as possible, y'know. So...get thinking... Keep in mind the whole Edward element and why he's all '_Nooooo, teh bloodz!_' and all (yeah, you like my lol cat speak ;) bwahahahaha).Think about it.

Emma

PS: The song was called **The Big Fight** by **Stars**.


	5. Saw It Coming

_Goodness knows I saw it coming,  
Or at least I'll claim I did,  
But in truth I'm lost for words._

* * *

We hadn't spoken in a month and for some bizarre reason I was upset about it. 

I really shouldn't have been upset about it. The fact that a vampire _wasn't_ taking interest in me was a good thing. A very good thing in fact. He had given me deathly glares on my first day which did give me the incentive that he wanted to kill me. If he wanted to kill me because I had breached some unknown vampire law – like bowing down before another when entering land or something like that – he would have done it by now. Or maybe that was too conspicuous and if he did that people would notice. My school back in Phoenix was a lot bigger than Forks' but you'd still notice if someone went missing… Maybe that was it. He wanted to but couldn't. There was no real logical reason to it in my view and if he knew I was a vampire I didn't know why he was being so defensive. There was no real need but whatever it was I had obviously offended him. That I knew I needed to fix.

But I had tried to fix it. I tried to fix it about a week afterwards. I was fed up of ignoring him after what he said and I knew I missed him, so I said pleasantly, "Hello, Edward," and all I got in return was a curt nod in my general direction. Nothing more and nothing less.

So I was left to my own devises. 5 weeks of thinking about what I'd done and no clues either. I spent most days staring at textbooks, pretending to study, while really thinking about how I ended up in an old rainy town in the Olympic Peninsular with another coven of vampires in my midst. Not that I was complaining. At lunch I could watch them gaze at the cream paint on the walls and as they ignore their untouched food look to see how Edward was doing. When he was around his so called family he was fine, joking around and seeming happy. His golden eyes showed a different story, not that I'd get a long time to look at them. It would only be from the side and we hadn't made any real eye contact since the day of the crash.

Naturally, people wanted to know what happened. I was bombarded with questions but after persistent interrogation from Jessica, ended up just saying it was all thanks to Edward that I was still here, which was true, just not quite completely. Jessica then went on to describe him as a hero and how much courage he must have had to put his life on the edge like that. I would nod when I was needed but I didn't half agree. He was so rude when I asked about how he had got over there so fast and the worst part was he _knew_ I was a vampire (A/N: he doesn't know by the way) so there would have been no problem.

Sometimes I would get the feeling he didn't like it too. He didn't like not talking to me or something like that but I quickly dismissed the thought along with anything else stupid that I would think. He hadn't looked at me once in the past month and I doubted he would ever again. It should have been a good thing with him not talking to me but I always felt a twinge of regret about the argument, as if, if I hadn't, we could have continued to get to know each other and I might have even gotten to know his coven.

From time to time, someone brought up the awkward conversations about the girls' choice dance and who would pick who. The corridors were brimming with hormones and all the giggling and blushing at the opposite sex was getting annoying. Incredibly so. I hadn't blushed since…well, since Edward spoke to me. Sometimes it was amusing to watch girls ask boys out, though it was mainly tedious. Jessica's hand clicked near my ear, making the sound reverberate around my head. Stupid heightened senses.

"Bella?"

"What, sorry? I must have zoned out."

"I said I was planning to ask Mike to the dance."

"That's great, Jess!"

"Are you sure you don't mind…you weren't planning to ask him?"

"No, I don't mind at all. I'm not going."

"It'll be really fun," she said, trying to get me to come but I could see her thoughts were elsewhere – namely Mike.

"You have fun with him."

The next day, Jessica wasn't her normal self. She didn't gush about what was happening in the latest soap or who asked who to the dance. She was practically silent when we walked between classes and I could tell instantly it was something to do with Mike and his answer. I was quiet at lunch, watching the Cullens' table from mine and Jessica who didn't speak to Mike once and was talking animatedly with Eric. It was unnerving. Mike was quiet too and I wondered why but I got my answer in Biology.

"So," Mike was looking at the floor like it held the meaning to life. "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."

"That's great, Mike. You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."

"Well…I told her I had to think about it." That would be why she was so distant. I really didn't have the time or the will power to deal with a put - out Jessica.

"Why would you do that?"

He was bright red and looking at the floor again. "I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me." I didn't miss how Edward tilted his head towards us. The first signs of life in weeks and I had to stop myself from grinning. That was the sign that I was waiting for, a sign he did care about me but grinned would really give Mike the wrong impression.

"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I replied with authority, teeth clenching together to hold back my smile.

"Did you already ask someone?" His eyes darted towards my silent lab partner.

"No. I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" He protested.

I had planned what I was going to say last night if anyone asked me. "I'm going to Seattle that Saturday."

"Can't you go some other weekend?" A tone louder and he would have been ordering me.

"Sorry, no. So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer – it's rude."

"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled and walked back to his seat, feeling dejected. I gradually let out my breath as the guilt washed through me. I slid my eyes shut and took another deep breath that shook a little when I felt eyes on me. Slowly, I brought my eyes up to look at the vampire with messy bronze hair and his gaze was terrifying. I couldn't look away. His golden eyes were pulling me in and it felt like I was drowning in their depths.

"Mr. Cullen?" Our teacher called from the front of the classroom. His eyes were burning with an untold emotion and as he turned his head they were glued to me for as long as possible. He ripped them away at the last second.

"The Krebs Cycle."

The spell was broken when our eyes lost contact and I brushed my hair over my shoulder, creating a screen so my blush wouldn't seem so prominent. It was incredibly hard to concentrate in the lesson when his golden eyes were burned under my eye lids. We didn't look at each other again in the lesson but then his voice called out after the bell rang.

"Bella?"

I turned slowly, trying to work out what he could possibly want to say, after not speaking to me at all... That would be why I was angry with him and I realised this at the same time I was speaking. "What? Are you speaking to me again?"

His lips twitched, fighting a smile but his eyes looked sad. "No, not really." I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. He made no sense what so ever.

"What do you want, Edward?" I kept my eyes closed as I said it.

"I'm sorry. I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way." I swung my eyes open to check if he was serious.

He was. "I don't know what you mean."

"It's better if we're not friends. Trust me."

"What's that supposed to mean? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I need friends like you? Like the rest of your family?"

"You don't want friends like us," he said, turning his attention to the floor, solemnly.

"No, after the past month I probably don't _want_ friends like you but that's not the point. I _need_ friends like you."

"What do you mean 'need'?"

"I need to work out what's going on with me and you're the only ones who can help me. No one else can."

I could see him trying to work it out, I honestly could. His face was calculating for a few moments and then it went into a calm façade. "We can't help you, Bella," Edward said, almost inaudibly, swinging his bag onto his back. "It's not safe."

I collected my books as quickly as I could, continuing to talk. "How can it not be safe?!"

"I'm not safe, Bella. None of us are."

"Yes, you –"

Then I tripped.

I dropped all of my books and nearly went down myself but Edward's cool hand caught me in time. By the time I had found my centre of gravity, he had stacked my books into a pile and was handing them to me. His defined jaw clenched together suppressing an emotion and his eyes were apologetic.

"Thank you," I said coldly.

"You're welcome," he murmured, still trying to convey how sorry he was.

Gym passed in a blur. The strange conversation we had just had wouldn't leave my mind and it didn't help when I should have been keeping my balance. Thankfully, I didn't injure anyone this lesson but I was totally distracted by what he meant by _'__We can't help you'_. They could help me and he knew they could so there had to be some other reason for his refusal. I didn't know what it was but there had to be some motive, I was missing something vital. I stepped out of the gym into the outdoors. Clouds threatened to rain down so I quickly walked towards the parking lot. Rounding a corner, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the dark figure leaning against my truck.

"Hi, Eric," I said after I had recovered from the shock.

"Hi, Bella."

"What's up?" I said casually, unlocking the door and throwing my bag in the passenger seat.

"Um, I was just wondering… if you would go to the spring dance with me," his voice broke on the last word and I nearly winced.

"I thought it was girls' choice…"

"Well, yeah," I saw a blush creep onto his cheeks.

"Thank you for asking me but I'm going to be in Seattle that day."

"Oh, well maybe next time"

"Sure," and with that I watched him go.

I slid into the driver's seat and hit my head on the driving wheel. Why, why, why, why, why!? Couldn't these boys pass the message around? I was going to Seattle and that was that. I didn't need, or want for that matter, boys to ask me out. I wasn't one for dancing and I would just end up embarrassing myself for no reason. That was partly it but did they really have a need to be around vampires? I mean, what was up with this town?!

A sharp knocking sound brought me to my senses. Tyler was at the passenger window and motioned me to wind it down. I couldn't get away because Edward had stopped right in front of my truck, blocking my exit. I leant over and wound the window down.

"Sorry Tyler, I'm stuck behind Cullen," I growled.

"Oh, I know – I just wanted to ask you something while we're trapped here." Trapped would be an odd way to phrase it, especially when he came to see me. Please don't do what I think you're about to do, Tyler, please… "Will you ask me to the spring dance?"

My left hand gripped the steering wheel, trying to calm myself down. "I'm not going to be in town, Tyler. I'm sure someone told you."

"Yeah, Mike said that," he said with a frown.

"Then why –"

"I hoped you were just letting him down easy."

"No, sorry Tyler," I snarled. "I really am going to be out of town then."

"That's cool. We still have a prom," he said shakily and I cringed when he was out of sight. Was I going to have to go through that with every boy in the whole school?

The irritating owner of the silver Volvo and the silver Volvo drove away and from my wing mirror I could see Edward shaking with laughed and his the rest of his coven giving him odd looks – Jasper in particular. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the anger I was feeling towards Edward and pushed my key into the ignition.

When I got home, I decided I was going to make chicken enchiladas. I had finished all of my homework and I needed something productive to do. It would take a while and I didn't want to waste my options of things to keep me busy when I was in my room – not that there were many of them. I mean, I couldn't really start cooking at three in the morning. I was in the middle of getting the ingredients out of the cupboards and fridge when the phone rang. I raced to get it. It was Jessica.

"Hello?" I said, lifting a shoulder to press the phone to my ear while I continued making dinner.

"Bella, you'll never guess who just said yes to going to the dance with me!"

"Mike did? Really? That's great!" I said while stirring.

"Yeah, I know! I can't believe it!"

"Any idea what you're going to wear?"

"Oh god, no idea what so ever and – oh, I can't talk for long, I still need to phone Angela and Lauren."

"Sure, it's fine… I had an idea about that. Maybe Angela could ask Eric and Lauren, Tyler. Would that work?"

I could hear her thinking it over down the other end of the phone. "That would work perfectly, Bella. Angela's been worried she won't be able to find a guy taller than her and Lauren's liked Tyler for ages. You're a life saver!"

"I try," I laughed.

"I wish you would come." She sounded a little more sincere now that she had Mike to go with.

"Jess, I really have to go to Seattle. I need tonnes of books and the library here doesn't have enough. Don't worry about me."

"If you say so… I'm going to have to go now. I'll pass along the ideas.

"Okay."

"Bye Bella."

"Bye Jess," I said.

My shoulder lost grip on the phone and it slid into the sauce. I swore a little too loudly, grabbed a dishcloth and tried to fish it out. I hung up from the call to Jessica and checked for the dial tone when it was clean. I placed it back in it's holder on the wall and Charlie came in not long after that, eying the peppers suspiciously. I doubted anything vaguely Mexican had ever set foot in this house, even with my mother being so eccentric.

"What ya cooking, Bells?"

"Enchiladas."

He just looked at me like I spoke another language and grown three heads. My father must have heard of enchiladas before, right? His eyes darted from the tortilla to the sauce to the peppers again. He looked up at me again…

"Okay," he said simply and walked off to watch the sports channel. I was left staring where he had just been. I shook my head in disbelief and turned my attention back to the food. I had a crazy father but his phase didn't seem to last long because a few minutes later he came back in asking why the phone smelt of sauce. I brushed it off saying he was smelling things, rather than seeing things. He raised an eyebrow and went back to the TV. When they were finally cooked, Charlie took the first apprehensive bite and I was relieved to see after a few bites, he was beginning to trust me in the kitchen. I brought up the idea of Seattle and he said it was fine but wondered if I'd get lost. I told him Phoenix was five times the size of Seattle. Somehow we got onto the subject of the dance and I have to carefully remind him that I didn't get my clumsiness from my mother. It took him a minute to understand what I was getting at then he let it drop. We both had the predisposition to fall and trip a lot but luckily for him, Charlie had grown out of it as he got older. I suspected I would never grow out of it now I was a vampire.

After we had finished eating, I feigned the sleep I craved for, saying I needed a good rest for a project that I had to do in Spanish. Charlie bought it no problem and turned back to the sport he was watching for what felt like the millionth time that night. I was just left to go up the stairs, thinking rapidly about what I could grab to keep me from dying from boredom. A little while later, Charlie noticed me and started asking why I was standing in front of the stairs like a deer in the headlights. Again, I brushed it off and made my way to my room, with my throat beginning to burn a little harder than normal.

When I could hear Charlie's gentle snores vibrate through the walls and the rain lightly hitting my window, I decided it was time to get changed. I was having one of those _human moment_ weeks where I would get changed and use the feeble amount of warmth that was radiated off my body to make it feel like I was waking up from sleeping. Just like the time where you know you should get up but don't because you're so warm – and because you're feeling lazy. I shut my eyes and concentrated on the sound of the rain pattering outside and my breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

_Open. Close._

I jerked my head to hear the sound better. It sounded distinctly like a door unlocking, opening, and closing. The back door to be precise. Deathly silent footsteps hit the wooden floor of the kitchen as I lifted my head an inch off of my pillow. Someone was defiantly inside the house because who ever it was had bothered to lock the back door again.

_Creak_.

The quiet tread hit the one stair that would screech as it was stepped on. The sound paused for a minute while I stared intently at my wall but really listening to every single sound in my home. As the footfalls began increasing in volume I realised they were outside of my room. Bracing myself, waiting for the sound of my wooden door to open, I settled into a deep breathing pattern.

_Click_.

Edward Cullen's scent wafted over to me and my eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Thank god I was facing the wall or my cover would have been blown completely. But what in the world would Edward Cullen want to do in my room?! We virtually had a full blown argument, _again_, in school and he had decided to come into my room at _night_? Something was up… Except there was something undeniable about him. I had no idea what it was. His scent was incredible, concentrated in the rain, although I didn't know if that came with the whole vampire thing. His hair was a mess that _worked_ and his eyes were totally overwhelming. I inhaled again. That scent was… I sighed and said his name in my head.

Mmm, indescribable.

I heard him catch his breath and walk a little closer towards my bed. The scent became a little more intense. I sighed again. How did I miss it before…? He had been sitting next to me for over a month. It was just… so… so…

_Edward_…

Then I realised the fatal flaw in my thoughts – they weren't my thoughts. I had said his name out loud. I was such an idiot! I was meant to be asleep for heaven's sake! People don't just start sighing names in their sleep – even though I did when I was human but that was beside the point – normal people didn't. Vampires didn't!

I tensed up as Edward knelt down beside my bed. I could feel his eyes on me and I tried to keep my breathing as calm as possible. I wouldn't be able to relax if he was –

"Bella," he sighed. I rolled over, still keeping my eyes closed and heard him catch his breath again. It sounded like he was going to say more so I kept quiet for the moment. "Bella," he sighed again. "If only you knew how I felt about you…" I chose my moment then. I opened my eyes wide and watched as his went wider. Edward was up in a flash but unluckily for him, so was I, throwing the covers off me. He made his way towards the door but I blocked him. He tried to get to the window but I lunged at him. He fell to the floor, hitting his face on the floorboards and I made an effort of sitting on him and grabbing his arm while pulling it behind him. He struggled for a while but soon gave up the poor attempt.

"Morning," I said pleasantly because it was.

He didn't speak.

"Good morning Edward," I repeated.

He muttered my name as a greeting.

"I'm not getting up until I get an answer so, do you mind telling me what you're doing creeping around my room like some kind of pervert? Because, I for one, really didn't think you would be the type of person to do that."

He stayed silent like before.

"Edward…"

"I wanted to see you," he murmured.

"At night?" I glanced at the clock. "At two in the morning?"

He was hesitant as his replied. "Yes. I thought you'd be sleeping."

And then it dawned on me. He thought _I was human_. Whatever I was doing made me look completely human in his eyes and if that wasn't an achievement I don't know what was. I could feel a small smirk crawling its way onto my face.

"Why aren't you asleep by the way?"

I grinned. This would be fun… "I'm somewhat of an insomniac."

He had heard my smile. "Is that a good thing?"

"Sometimes, like now for example. If I had been asleep I would have never have caught you."

"You weren't meant to…" He mumbled too low for human ears.

"Ah, but I did. You should always think of all the options."

"How did you hear –" he cut himself off. "Can I get up now?"

"I suppose so." I got up slowly, making sure Edward didn't make any sudden movements. The last thing I needed was a run away vampire when I needed to talk to him. "Was there another reason that you came here? Most people don't want to, especially at night. In fact, I think you're my first visitor to the house… Welcome," I said slyly.

"Thank you, I think…Actually, everyone wants to know you a little better." I watched him as he whispered the words that would have made my heart fly. "I know I do." I pretended not to hear it and ignore the thrill I got.

There was a strangely uncomfortable yet comfortable silence between us. I didn't like it because it was a little awkward but I felt relaxed in his presence. It was rather funny to feel, especially when it fell into my stomach and turned into butterflies. I looked into his golden eyes and time seemed to stop. I couldn't see anything other than the pools of topaz that were staring back at me. Endless…

Suddenly the rain hit my windowpane hard, making us both jump and loose the connection with each other's eyes. "I should probably get going now," he muttered again and I couldn't help think he was a little embarrassed. I know I would be and I wondered where I got all the courage to sit on him… I mean, sitting on Edward! Who does that?!

"I guess…"

He walked towards the window, sliding it open, getting ready to climb out. Abruptly he turned around and his eyes burned with that an untold emotion into mine. "Night Bella." I felt my breath catch and he jumped out of my room. When I heard his feet hit the ground I took another breath and on a split second decision, ran up to the still open window.

"I'll see you at school, vampire!"

I fell onto my bed, after closing the window incredibly quickly. I giggled to myself.

School was sure to be interesting now…

* * *

**A/N:** Weeee haaavvveee a wiiiinnner!!!  
That winner is and that means the competition is closed. It was guessed correctly but I'll be happy to still take your yours! Here's a hint if you like and it rhymes, how lucky are you guys?: 

_It's like a Fan Fiction gift over used,  
But a little more humanly fused._

Mmmkay. I'll apologize now. I haven't updated in over a week because last weekend was just so… ARGH! I was so busy and had hardly any time to write. I had a party and I went to see Cloverfield (!) Great movie by the way. The monster is just wow... Anyhoo, I was busy and I hope I made it up to you all with this extra long chapter.

Emma

PS: The song was **Chocolate** by **Snow Patrol**.


	6. Hunter And Prey

_The streets are all violent,  
With murderous excitement,  
The hunter and the prey are dancing everyday._

* * *

I pulled into the parking lot when it seemed reasonable to do so. I was half dreading seeing Edward because I knew it could go two ways – good or bad. I did not want another falling out, I was certain about that. I craved his company too much to loose it again. Selfish but true. Charlie had left early again which I was fine with. He had promised to be around more often but I told him it was fine and I would need to get used to being on my own for when I went to College. He gave me a sympathetic look and walked out of the door. 

I fumbled with my keys and dropped them. Being as fast as I was, I caught them but not so slow as to miss the pale hand that tried to get them too. I smiled and looked up.

"Edward," he looked exceptionally nervous. "I'll admit that almost scared me." He didn't speak. "And you're very quiet today. I thought by now you'd be a little more talkative. Why the traffic jam last night?"

He paused about to talk but his mouth curved into a quaint smile. "I had to give Tyler a chance, didn't I?"

I inhaled deeply, trying not to make an incident that would ruin, probably everything. My lips pressed into a thin line. "Hmmm," was all I said and I turned to walk away towards the school. The rain was coming down quite hard today and I didn't bother with my hood. I liked the feel of it on my skin.

"Bella, wait!" I heard him call but I didn't stop walking. I was strictly speaking angry with him, annoyed yes, but not angry. I don't think I could be angry with him even if I tried. Plus, it didn't make much sense if I was trying to work out what was going on. His jogged up beside me. "Slow down Bella." I didn't speak. He grabbed my arm and spun me around. "What did I do?" he asked perplexed.

I just gave him a blank look that my mom had said made her feel really guilty. I had no idea how I did it but it seemed to work and I could see it working. "I - I take it you didn't want him to get a chance. Yes?" I narrowed my eyes. "You did?" he sounded shocked so I made them disgusted as well. "Bella," he sighed heavily. "You have no idea how confused I am because of you."

"Hard to read, am I?" I quipped with a raised eyebrow.

"Unbearably so."

I had ended up getting us under the cafeteria canopy so the rain couldn't hit us and so I could see him properly. As much as I liked the feel of rain, it did get bothersome, particularly when you were trying to talk with a vampire who, may I add, you were tricking. It was slightly unnerving to see that because of the drizzle, Edward had come out of it looking like he was shooting a shower gel commercial. I dreaded to think about what I looked like. _A drowned rat?_

"I actually wanted to ask you something before you went off. You know –"

"Something to do with how I know what you are, maybe?"

He looked apprehensively at me before answering. "I was hoping to talk to you about that at lunch when we had a little more time. No, I was wondering, a week from Saturday – you know, the day of the spring dance…" Edward cut himself off as he saw my murderous expression. He looked a little jumpy too but after a little while, he found his voice. "…I heard you say you were going to Seattle that day, and I was wondering if you wanted a ride."

Now _that_ caught me by surprise.

He must have seen my expression and thought it something like disgust. "Unless you don't want to. I won't force you to come with me… I just don't think your truck could make it all the way there."

"What's wrong with my truck?"

"Nothing really…" I mentally congratulated myself for getting a vampire nervous, above all because he thought I was human. A look of concern came across his face. "Will you?"

A small smile appeared on my lips. "Yes, Edward, I will."

"You really should stay away from me."

"And you should stay away from me but I get the feeling neither of us will. I'll see you at lunch." And with that I simply turned and walked to my next class.

Somehow I was glad we had separate classes. I know it would have been awkward to say the least if we had ended up talking about vampires in the middle of a class. Students would be trying to listen in on our conversation, not that any of us were stupid enough to do that. I could just see Eric Yorkie pretending to concentrate on his work but really hanging on our every word. Still, it wasn't as if we were going to shout 'So, Edward, I know you're a vampire,' and 'Yes, however did you manage to figure it out?' in front of the whole class. Edward himself was still…well, different. His gold eyes – which I did not understand one bit – made him actually look human, despite the obvious vampireness about him. Although, in spite of that, he seemed like her knew more than the rest of his coven. The way he carried himself, for example, made him unlike them. Of course they were all dissimilar on their own but, well, maybe it was just because he was Edward.

One way or another, I got past the morning, not matter how slow it felt. Jessica was back to her usual self, spurting things about the dance and predictably Mike. He was organizing a trip out to First Beach in La Push at the weekend. In the month I had been at Forks High School, I had got a real insight into the school hierarchy. Jessica and Lauren were extremely vain. Their table practically ran the junior year but it would have probably been the Cullens if they weren't vampires. Urgh. I needed to keep my mind away from them, namely Edward. Watching humans doing stupid things was usually vaguely entertaining when I wasn't involved. A few trouble makers had decided to stir up a mess, whilst chewing gum. I didn't know how blind teachers could be. How much trouble could you get into in a Spanish lesson? Anyway, Jessica seemed amused at not learning and watching the two idiots _be_ idiots. I just wanted the lesson to fin–

The bell interrupted my thoughts and I found I had been suppressing a bubbling anxiousness. I realised how exceedingly tense I was and how idiotic it was too. _Relax Bella, he's been friendly so far. _But then the other side of my conscience would argue back. _Apart from that one time in Biology when he wanted to kill you. _I frowned._That was one time and think how nervous he was this morning._ The other side argued back. _So was that. He could still kill you if he wanted. _I swallowed hard, tuning the voices out. I didn't need to go crazy just yet, not when it was just getting good. Human intimidating a vampire. Seriously, I needed to see this play out, wherever I ended up. Jessica went on as we walked about something or other and I mumbled my 'mmm's and 'yes's, looking as interested as I could, which of course was harder than it looked.

When we got to the cafeteria, I surveyed the room for Edward while Angela joined us. Swooping over the Cullen table, I couldn't see him there. Jessica and I had taken our time getting here so I didn't see any reason for him not to. Wasn't he worried at all that I would spill his secret? All of a sudden, Alice, the small pixie like one spun around in her seat, and signalled to another part of the large hall. Edward was sitting on his own, across from his coven, watching the whole silent conversation between us. I turned back to her, smiled and gave a nod in appreciation. She smiled back and started bouncing in her seat. I didn't know how much she knew but it looked like the whole coven knew I knew about the fact I knew. The two boys looked uneasy and while Alice bounced the blonde, Rosalie, looked like she would rip my head off. Her glares almost matched Edward's on the first day.

I began walking towards the table he had saved for us when someone called my name. Jessica, of course. "Bella, where are you going?"

"Um, Edward asked me to sit with him today," I said calmly, bracing myself for the worst. "I probably should have told you earlier, I guess it slipped my mind."

I could see the storm brewing inside her, jaw clenched and fists matching. Her eyes showed her struggling conscience, that was contemplating whether to create a scene in the middle of the lunch hall or start spreading rumours and to disown me later. Was I really_that_ repulsive that even if I didn't know the Cullens secret, that maybe if I sat with Edward for some other reason besides mortal danger to Forks' population, I would be rejected?

"You –" she began, fuming but was interrupted by Angela.

"Go sit with him, Bella. We'll tell everyone else. Don't worry," she smiled, generally happy for me, unlike someone. I mouthed a 'thank you' as Jessica stormed over towards the usual table. She smiled again and followed, trying to calm her down. I turned back and went to sit opposite Edward.

"Right," I said as I fell down into the chair, looking and feeling dazed. I knew Jessica had a temper thanks to Angela warning me but I never expected to be so close to it.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sincerity burning through his words and eyes.

"Yeah, I suppose. No harm done."

We fell into another comfortable silence, lost in our own thoughts. Subconsciously, I had wrapped my hand around my throat in an attempt to sooth it. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mmmhmm, just hurts, that's all." The rubbing seemed to help a little. "This isn't normal, I take it, for you to sit with another student or anyone outside of your coven." He visibly flinched.

"No," he said in a monotone voice.

"Well," I sighed, guessing the forthcoming doom. "I imagine you have a few questions."

He looked at the pattern of the table for a while. "How did you know?"

"What you were?" I asked. Edward nodded. "It's rather hard not to. You all stick out like a sore thumb. If it wasn't your beauty, it would be your incredibly pale skin that would rule you out."

"Oh. It's just we try our hardest to blend in. So far you're the only one who's ruled us out for what we really are, I think, ever really."

"How can you be so sure?"

He ignored my question. "How much do you know about us, Bella?"

"Enough to know that you're dangerous."

Our eyes trailed around the cafeteria, watching the humans eat their food. A few were having food fights and I rolled my eyes. I went back to rubbing my neck. "Aren't you hungry?" Edward asked. I shook my head, not meeting his eyes. "You should eat Bella."

"I'm not hungry and besides," I looked at him and spoke darkly. "I could say the same to you but I know it would be wrong to do so. You shouldn't be in a town, much less a school."

Then his eyes went wide. "You think we attack humans?"

"You're a vampire, what else is there?"

"Animals," he said with a smirk. It was my turn to be shocked.

"Animals?"

He nodded, "Animals."

"Animals?" I repeated, exasperated.

"Yes, Bella, animals. As in a living organism that is distinguished from plants by its independent movement and its responsive sense organs."

I scowled at him. "There's no need to go scientific on me, I know what they are, but," I sighed again in relief, shaking my head and resting it on the table. "Here I am worrying that you were attacking the students." That set him off in hysterics and I glared at him but couldn't shake the feeling of how amazing he looked and sounded when he laughed. We got dirty looks from some seniors and I realised I needed to stop him. "Enough laughter at my expense please," I said, turning my head completely into my arm.

"You're not okay."

"Nope," I muttered darkly.

I heard him come down to my level and I could feel his eyes on me. I turned my head a little to look at him and saw he had folded his arms and was resting his chin on his right wrist that was balanced on his left. Odd, it reminded me of a dog a little. "Have you had medicine?"

"Yes, it doesn't help."

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"No."

"You could see Carlisle at the hospital."

"Mmm," I said, trying to distract him. "That brings us to our second problem. Why would a vampire work a hospital? There are probably gallons of blood on one floor, and that's not even including living organisms as you put it. Why would anyone put themselves through that?"

"It's his gift. His compassion gives him the strength not to attack humans. He can hardly smell blood now; it doesn't bother him at all." The look on Edward's face showed he really respected Carlisle.

"Gift?" I asked confused.

He looked at me, pensive. "How much do you know about us, Bella? Honestly, tell me."

"Not a lot other than you drink blood, shine in the sun and are inhumanly strong with heightened senses. Oh, you can't sleep, obviously."

"You're right, that isn't a lot," he said with a crooked grin.

"Care to enlighten me?" I pulled my eyebrows up.

"Well, you know too much already so there's no real damage if I tell you the rest. Firstly, gifts. When a vampire is changed, they bring across their most human trait with them. Carlisle for example, was very compassionate as a human and it was brought over and exaggerated. Esme, his wife, can love anything. Rosalie brought her beauty or if you like her tenacious and Emmett, his strength."

"What about the rest of you?" I asked after he was quiet.

A sad smile fell onto his lips. "We're …unusual. Jasper can sense and manipulate emotions, Alice can see into the future and I," he sighed. "I can read people's thoughts."

My mind reared back for a moment. He could read thoughts. As in mind reader. That was why he seemed to have that air to him, because he knew almost everything about people. Almost everything because the minute I came to Forks, he couldn't possibly know what I was thinking. I was so paranoid about the coven that day and he would have heard my mental screaming on what he was going to do in that Biology lesson. And when he came back, I was completely terrified that he'd attack me or something. Then he was pleasant and I was shocked. So, by then he must have guessed which meant he _hadn't_.

"You can't read my mind," I mumbled, astonished with my answer.

"How did you know?!"

"You would have known I knew about you the minute who read my thoughts, which means you can't."

He looked stunned and his eyes bore into my own. "Bella, you're so observant it's unheard of." I blushed at this pointless comment. "That blush is lovely on you." I looked down as my cheeks got hotter than before. Damn that vampire and his romanticism.

"That can't be it though," I said, trying to divert his attention from my burning face _again_. "Isn't there more?"

"You're right, there is more," he grinned crookedly. "As you said, we are inhumanly strong but we can also run inhumanly fast. We don't have our own blood because our bodies use it up in the space of one year, so all necessary fluids are 'borrowed blood' if you will and venom. It fills in for saliva and tears but it's only enough so we can move our eyes, not cry and as you know, we can't sleep. Which is why when someone is," he hesitated, "bitten, they're changed. Our teeth are sharper but not pointed," He flashed them in a smile." We don't need them pointed like the books or films make out, skin is like butter. I didn't mean–"

"Edward, don't worry about it. Just explain and don't worry if you feel like you're offending me. You're not."

He gave me a sympathetic smile mixed with confusion. "Our eye colour changes and as you said, our senses are heightened, so I can probably hear a lot further than you," I doubted it. "And, our hearts don't beat… You don't seem to be too shocked by this all."

"It logical really, though, it is a lot to get my head around. Take something away to make something stronger. In your case, your heart for someone else's thoughts." It wasn't a lie. I knew I was stronger but running? I couldn't exactly see myself running at a normal pace without tripping so I had no hope of going faster. "What are you thinking?" I blurted out, not thinking myself.

"I'm trying to figure out what you are," he mused.

"Having any luck with that?" I asked, generally curious.

"None what so ever," he grinned but it suddenly dropped from his face. "Bella," he began. "If you don't mind me asking, how _do_ you know so much about us? We move around, never expecting to be found out for what we truly are and if anyone gets any ideas, I usually know," he said, tapping his temple to prove his point. "And then you come along, the one person I can't read and you guess straight away."

He had me there and I was sure I was just staring at him, my eyes wide and a mouth to match. There was no way I could get out of telling him now he had actually asked me the question. It was just –

_RING!_

How cliché, saved by the bell.

I picked up my bag and slung it over my back. I was sure if I was still human, my heart would be thudding with adrenaline and it didn't help the way Edward was looking up at me through dark lashes with a thoughtful expression on his face. When I realised he wasn't mirroring me, I had to ask, "Aren't you coming?"

His gaze turned to the table for a few seconds followed by me. "It's healthy to ditch class now and then."

"Oh. I'll see you later, then." He simply nodded. I don't know why, but I felt a little saddened that he wasn't coming and well, I really shouldn't have. Okay, I was glad the bell had interrupted the question but I did actually crave his company. That was clear. There was no one else on this planet I'd rather talk to and I would, probably skip classes to be with him but I wouldn't do it when I was so new. And I didn't want to seem desperate, of course. Reluctantly, I left him at the table, staring at the wooden pattern while I made my way to Biology. Mike wasn't there to pester me as I walked and everyone else had most likely already heard about and seen me sitting with Edward and was therefore giving me space. Not that I was complaining, humans got tiresome, especially gossiping humans like Lauren and Jessica.

When I arrived in class, practically everyone was already seated. Mike nearly glared at me but it looked a little more like a stubborn two - year old. Angela was in awe and I was more than thankful the two gossipers weren't in my class. That would be their names. The Gossipers. I sat in my seat, giving a down hearted glance at Edward's empty seat and I was being such an idiot. It wasn't as if my life depended on him. Essentially, that was arguable because he could still kill me, I just didn't think he would.

"Alright, alright, settle down everyone!" Mr Banner called while walking into the noisy classroom. He was juggling some boxes in his arms and calling Mike over to start passing them around. He then proceeded to go through the steps on the practical for the lesson – blood typing. I did not need to be in a classroom if humans would be poking sharp tools into their skin. As if to prove his point he grabbed Mike's hand and, well, it looked more like a stab than a jab. He began squeezing the blood out onto each of the prongs as Mike winced. It flowed smoothly and my stomach churned. Instinctively I stopped breathing. I lost concentration after that, trying to control my throat. It was as if it was screaming out for blood. Mike's didn't smell nice, I knew that. It was just the sight! I craved it more than anything on the planet! The cool table top was a nice contrast with my skin; it felt like I was getting a fever but I knew that was impossible.

"Bella, are you feeling alright?" A voice said close to me. I took a fleeting look above me. Mr Banner was looking down at me, alarmed.

"I already know my blood type, Mr Banner," I said, breathing out the last of my breath. I didn't dare glimpse up again in case a random classmate was messing around with the lancet.

"Are you feeling faint?" I merely nodded. "Can someone take Bella to the nurse please?" he called after getting the class's settled down once more.

"I will sir." God damn it, Mike. The idea was '_don't be around humans_' not '_send the one that's bleeding_', I thought to myself. I suppressed an irritated groan and scowled into the table. I seemed to be coming into close contact with a few tables today. I swiftly walked outside, hearing Mike trail behind me after Mr Banner dismissed us. I felt myself shaking. There was no way I could end someone's life. I wouldn't. When we got outside I took a deep breath of rainy air in. I was shaking all over and somehow Mike felt the need to comfort me by putting his arm around me. I quickly shrugged him off. The human kind of comforting was not needed at the present time.

"Bella?"

"Yes Mike?"

"You're going quite fast, don't you think?"

"I'm about to throw up, I think I _need_ to go fast." It was a good lie if I did say so myself. We rounded another corner and I just couldn't be bothered anymore. I sunk to the floor in a heap, clutching my throat. I could feel Mike just watching me and I expected to hear him speak but it was someone else.

"Bella?" Edward Cullen's smooth voice called out to me. "Bella?"

I opened one eye, trying to concentrate on him, rather than my throat. "Fancy seeing you here. I thought you were ditching."

"I was but this seemed to be a little more important. Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"Peachy," I mumbled.

"I was taking her to the nurse –," Mike butted in so Edward did too.

"And now you can go back to class. I'll take her the rest of the way." Was it me or did it seem like I was property?

"I was told to take her, Cul–" Mike's dreary voice was replaced with a whoosh of air. My eyes flew open and I saw that Edward had scooped me up and was darting across towards the Front Office. His cold chest held me gingerly but I could still feel the contours of his sculpted chest. I subconsciously leant into him.

"Edward," I said sternly, watching the scenery that would be near to blurs in a human eye. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!"

I heard him sigh and look down briefly. "I'm taking you to the nurse, Bella." Where I got the courage from I don't know, but I lifted my hand up to the crook of his neck and pushed down into the gap beside his collar bone. I did a good job, he almost dropped me, stumbled even. Anyway, it got him to stop moving and put me back onto my feet. He faced me, incredulous. "How did you do that?"

"Pressure points, don't tell me you've never heard of them."

"Yes, yes, of course. I just didn't think they worked on… vampires."

"They work on anyone. Try it with your coven."

He flinched again. "Please don't call it that. Saying family makes us feel more human."

"Fine," I said, trying to be blasé about it but really it thrilled me to know he preferred the human life and that it might make telling him about everything a little easier. "Try it on Emmett, I'm sure that would be fun." He smiled at the thought. I started to walk back towards the Front Office, even though I wouldn't step inside. Edward's footsteps followed. I unknowingly started swallowing to try and relieve the burning.

"You should go to Carlisle, I can hear how much pain you're in."

"Didn't I say I would go?" I snapped, cursing myself for forgetting about senses. _You have them too, Bella…_

"No actually, you didn't," he said lightly, hinting his amusement with his words.

"Well, I will. Okay?"

"Fine, and another thing. Your crabbiness only tells me that you are in more pain than you were at lunch."

"Bravo," I said sarcastically. Thankfully, I had parked near the Office so it would seem that I was going there. I had to confess, it was way too much fun to do this to a vampire. He kept up with my speed well and it was only till Edward realised where I was headed that he took my hand to try and turn me around. We both gasped as the electricity flowed up and down our arms.

Instinctively, our hands dropped.

"You felt that, didn't you?" I asked. Edward merely nodded and stared at his hand in awe. I shook my head and started walking back towards my truck.

"Bella!" he called after me. He caught my hand again and I felt myself blush faintly but kept walking. He pulled me back a little too forcefully and I crashed into his chest, bashing my nose along the way. My hand shot up to it trying to relieve the pain somehow. He seemed appalled he'd hurt me and to be honest, I was rather shocked too. "Are you alright?"

"It's not bleeding so I'm fine," I wondered if I could bleed. "You know, for a vampire you're quite hard," I poked him in the stomach and grinned. "And weak."

"And you're stalling."

Edward dragged me inside the Front Office. I tried to pull away but eventually gave in. I knew he would win anyway. He told me to sit looking sick – which was no difficulty considering how I was feeling – while he spoke to Ms. Cope in a low, attractive voice. I was insanely glad I wasn't her because I would probably be ten shades of red deeper than my normal blush. Soon he was back looking very triumphant and I heard Ms. Cope call absentmindedly for me to get well soon. He pulled my hand again and pulled me back to face him. I got the feeling I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the strange electricity between us.

"Do you think I'm going to let you drive in your condition?"

"What condition exactly?" I eyed him sceptically, trying to think of a way to get out of this.

"Firstly, you almost fainted in class over all the blood, secondly, you just crashed into me which is effectively crashing into stone and finally, your throat will distract you and I am the only one who will be able to get out alive."

"Edwa–"

"No, I insist. Plus, I'll get Alice to drop your truck off later today. Come on, it's open." I looked at him and plotted. "I'll just drag you back," he said with complete certainty.

I ran for it.

My keys were already out and I was over there in a flash, still keeping to human limits but I felt like it was only the starting point of how fast I could go. I was so close to getting the key in when I was almost knocked over. Cool arms wrapped around me and the static energy flew around us. We both gasped again and then I came to my senses.

"You idiot!"

"What?"

"Are you trying to kill me?!" he winced as I spoke. "Wrong phrase, I know, but you almost knocked me to the ground."

"Oh god, are you okay?" I nodded, trying to work out how many times he had asked me that today.

"Fine Edward, you may take me to your car now." I really didn't expect him to do what he did… It was so unlike him, picking me up into a fireman's lift and running across back to his car in under five seconds, keeping to human speeds like I did. He set me down in the passenger seat and before I could blink he was getting in too.

"That was completely unnecessary."

"But it was fun," he quipped. I glared darkly out of the window. We sat in peaceful silence and I saw him turn down the music that was playing.

"Claire du Lune?"

"You know Debussy?" he replied, just as shocked as I was.

"Not well," I admitted. "My mother… She used to play a lot of classical music around the house – I only know my favourites."

"It's one of my favourites, too," he mumbled, seeing I didn't want to speak much and we went back to our silence. I looked out of the window as we drove past, watching us turn down roads. It was about two minutes later that I worked out this was not the route to my home.

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"Where are you taking me?" I said, praying it wasn't where I thought it was.

"The hospital," he said simply.

I nearly screamed.

* * *

**A/N: **This took a while to get up and I haven't proof read it because I'm lazy. Deal with it.  
Ahem, at the moment I have terrible sinus pains and a throbbing headache so I'm not the happiest of bunnies but in the next chapter, Bella and Carlisle will have a heart to heart...of sorts. **I am away for the weekend so the next chapter will be up later than planned.**  
Right, now I've got to get ready for a bad taste party so I'll read you when I read you. 

Emma

PS: Song is called **I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard **by **Nightmare of You**


	7. Seventeen Forever

_I want to say we'll be together,  
But let's not ask why it's not right,  
You won't be seventeen forever,  
And we can get away with this tonight._

* * *

As much as I pleaded, Edward wouldn't let me go. He even went as far as to lock the doors of his Volvo to make sure I wouldn't get away, so clearly, I wasn't allowed to escape. It wasn't that I was afraid of hospitals per se – I had been to them enough as a human. I was just petrified of being found out. I hadn't really got over Biology yet and now I was being forced into a building of blood. 

Joy.

"Please, Edward," I begged for what felt like the millionth time.

"Bella, you need to see a doctor and it will be no bother for Carlisle to look at your throat," he paused. "Is it because he's a vampire that you're scared?"

"No, no!" I exclaimed, hoping I hadn't offended him in anyway. From what I knew he was susceptible to mood swings, although I hadn't known him for that long. "I just think you're over - reacting. It's not that bad…"I trailed off.

"It is bad. Your swallowing has increased by the minute and your hand is clenched on your seat." Instantly, I let go and well, I couldn't help if my 'venom' kept gushing, could I?

Forks' hospital was in fact quite small and was only a short distance from the high school. Edward didn't seem to be speeding inappropriately yet so we weren't exactly noticeable. Now and then he would give me a sympathetic look as I took a big gulp. I would have to add that to my list of vampirism annoyances; blood lust, the sparkle feature and senses. Actually, make that everything about being a vampire. Human life was so much easier – however any time I thought that I would regret it. A voice in the back of my mind would shout out about how if none of this had happened, I would have never met Edward. From those thoughts I would drift on to thinking about how I really felt about him, even though it was insanely confusing. Clearly I liked him – who wouldn't? – But what I really didn't get was why he bothered to get to know me before I told him that I knew what he and his family were. I didn't look any different than before my change so I must have been a kind of project for him. Inhuman beauty wasn't on my list of qualities, so it must have been that or something else. I'd have to ask when he eventually found out about me. He would have to guess at some point. He had what seemed like years of knowledge at his disposal. His attitude towards everything seemed like it was from another century and if I knew him as well as I thought I did, he would have told his family too. Edward, from what I could see, liked his solitude and I totally understood that. Living with Charlie was like having my own place in more than one way but I got the feeling that even he opened up to people.

This meant he opened up to Carlisle. He was the coven leader but… I had no idea what to expect from him now he knew I knew what his family were and it wasn't as if Edward took to me straight away. Whatever I did really upset him that day; another thing I'd have to ask about. Maybe I naturally wasn't meant to be around other vampires. I evidently wasn't like the Cullens so perhaps I wasn't meant to be around anyone – vampire or human. I liked time on my own but I didn't want isolation and I didn't like the idea of not being around Edward.

"Why are you frowning?" Edward asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" He repeated himself. "Oh, just thinking."

"Care to share?"

"Not yet, but I will. One day," that brought a frown to his face.

"I wish you wouldn't do that. Say things that just make me want to know your mind even more."

"And I wish you wouldn't get mood swings. They confuse me," his brows furrowed further. "Besides, you know what they say, patience is a virtue," I said after swallowing. He sped up without saying anything.

We pulled up to the parking lot and both got out. Edward gave the randomly placed totem poll an odd look and I shook my head. You would expect something like that being only a few miles from a Native American Reserve. I made towards the door, seeing no way out of it and Edward raced over to open it for me. I lifted an eyebrow but walked in regardless. When I glanced back he had a crooked grin on his face. I was about to give him a slap but then I saw the emergency room. It was as if everyone was bleeding. A little boy with glass stuck in his knee, a woman with a cut on her forehead, a man with a gash in his shin and a scratch on his neck. The only person who wasn't was a pregnant woman who still looked like she was in pain, tremors going up her back. I spun around and ended up hiding my head in the crook of Edward's neck. My eyes were clenched shut and I had to stop breathing to cut the venom flow down.

His chest vibrated as he spoke. "Is it the blood?" I nodded. "Come on," his cool hands clasped gently around my shoulders, spinning me back around. My eyes were still shut. "We'll go into a private room. I know people here. You'll be okay."

It's odd how shutting off one sense can heighten others. I knew it happened as a human but it happening to vampire senses was alarming. I could hear further than before; each individual footstep, the rolling of hospital trolleys, the sluggish stumbles of patients making their way towards doctors, Edward's deep, calming breath… I was quite surprised he could still breathe in here and the fact I hadn't tripped yet. I was sure I would trip. I always did. Having my eyes closed probably didn't help either.

"Here," he said softly. I blinked. The room was simple, an odd light orange colour that reminded me of vomit a little. There was a small bed in the corner of the room with a cabinet next to it. Two arm chairs were sat side by side facing the bed. "I'm going to go and tell Carlisle that you're in here. I'll be back soon, don't go wandering." As if I'd go back out there. He gave me another sympathetic look and left. The door slowly shut and I went to lie on the bed. I flipped my eyes shut. The same sounds were there, apart from Edward's breathing. Occasionally someone would walk past the door, creating noise that would block of others. It was only until I heard Edward's voice again that I started really listening. At first it was like he was speaking to himself but then I realised he was answering someone's thoughts.

"Yes… I took her from the school. She was on her way to the nurse's office… Only complaining about her throat at lunch. It seemed to get a lot worse after Biology… No, because they were blood testing and I guess she felt faint. I couldn't get much information from her because of her throat… Oh, she bashed her nose on me… It's not …I pulled her back around, she didn't want to come here…I know, but you need to see her… No, that's it." he sighed, worn out with who ever he was talking to and I was guessing it was Carlisle.

There was a knock and as I opened my eyes, the door opened. Edward walked in first followed by Carlisle, looking just like before. He held his clip board and stethoscope around his neck. Right now, the stethoscope was not my friend. I sat up as Carlisle spoke. "How is your throat doing, Miss Swan?"

"It hurts and call me Bella, please."

He walked over and started to examine my nose for any damage. His hands were that same cool. I saw him glance at Edward quickly who had taken a seat in one of the chairs. He raised his eyebrows, like he was daring Carlisle to do something. Whatever Carlisle thought made Edward tense forward in the chair, looking up fearfully. I scowled at nothing in particular. "It's not polite to have mind conversations with another person in the room." This made Carlisle smile and Edward look away, pretending to be grumpy but I could see the smile on his lips.

"We are sorry, Bella. Mr. Moody over there needed a slight head check." The next thing I knew a stapler was being thrown at Carlisle's head. He dodged it and it hit the wall. I didn't even want to know where he had found it. "Edward, please refrain from throwing office equipment at one of the hospital's patients. Everyone here knows you're not normally like this. You could have hit Bella."

"I guess that head check wasn't quite so thorough, was it?" Then he looked at me and his eyes burnt into mine. "I'm sorry."

Somehow I recovered quickly. "Apology accepted. Are you two done?"

"Yes," the serious side of Carlisle came forward and so did the part I was dreading. "Bella, I need to take a look at your throat. Could you open your mouth please?" I did as I was asked. I felt a wooden stick push my tongue down so he could see further down my throat. Nothing terrible yet. Edward lent forward in his chair and Carlisle shook his head, trying to be subtle. Another silent conversation. When Carlisle began taking his stethoscope from his neck that I began to worry.

"Um," I began a few octaves too high. "Do you think this could be private?" I gauged Edward's reaction. Hurt flashed across his face but as soon as I saw it, it was replaced with an unnerving calm.

"That's fine Bella," but I could see it wasn't. I jumped off the bed as he made for the door.

"It's one of those things that I will tell you, but now isn't the right time."

"There seem to be a lot of them."

"I need to ask Carlisle something. Please trust me, Edward."

The hurt came to the surface now. "How can I trust you if you don't trust me?"

"I do trust you, more than you know." I was begging him with my eyes. The golden orbs burned back into my dull brown ones with so much force it was like I was falling into them.

"Okay." A sad smile crossed his lips.

"Edward, if Bella wants this to be private I'll have to ask you not to listen to my thoughts."

He nodded. "I need to pick up the others anyway. I'll come back to get you, Bella. You have no way to get home if I don't." That same smile appeared again and he left. The guilt washed over me like I was drowning. It was palpable, and I really didn't want him to leave.

"What is it that you need to ask me?"

"Um, it can wait until you've finished. Carry on." I was sure that if my heart still beat, I would have fainted by now. He was a compassionate person. I shouldn't have been scared but I really couldn't help it. I didn't know what his reaction would be. He took his stethoscope out properly this time, putting the plugs into his ears. Luckily for me, I didn't have to take my top off because I was wearing a v - neck. The cold metal touched my skin and I shut my eyes, praying everything would work out. The amplifier moved around a little before slowly being removed completely. I opened my eyes then.

Carlisle's face was one of total confusion. "No heart beat," he said, mostly to himself. I shook my head anyway. "I take it you know why."

"Vampire…"

"When were you changed?"

It was on the sixth of December so…"About three months ago."

This threw him into a bout of incredulousness. "You're a new born!"

"Yes?" It came out as a question.

"When was the last time you hunted?"

"Um…I haven't. Ever."

He fell down into one of the arm chairs. He seemed exhausted over what I told him. "But…You look just like a human. Your eyes are brown, if you were a vampire they'd be red… Except…" Carlisle was silent for at least two minutes. Whatever he was thinking needed his full concentration so I left him to his thoughts, trying to work out what I would do if his reaction was bad. "You've never hunted and yet…" he said slowly. "When did your throat begin to hurt?"

"About the same time I started school."

"Before, when you were human –" I tensed "– did you have any special qualities? I presume Edward told you about gifts, yes?

I nodded. "I suppose I was rather observant. Not a lot of things would get past me." He shook his head.

"It doesn't seem to be like that …Can you cry?" I nodded. "Eat food?" Another hesitant nod. His hands covered his face and he exhaled deeply. "But you have vampire qualities too?"

"I sparkle if that's what you mean."

"Senses?"

"Yep."

"Sleep?"

"No."

A curious look came across his face as he pulled his head out of his hands. "Tell me Bella, how do you see yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you see yourself as pretty?"

"I…" Cue blush. "I'm normal, plain."

"Did you blush like that as a human?"

"Um, yes. I fell more though."

Somehow I was glad that Edward had made me come here. I felt stupid for thinking that a person whose strongest trait was compassion would lash out because I was like him. Carlisle was kind and from what I could guess liked a challenge. I was one in a nutshell and I wouldn't complain if he could work out what was going on with me. His face was creased with a frown as he focused on my _situation_ or _condition_ if you like. He was the one with the medical degree, not me. In the meantime, I was left to examine the lovely shade on the walls and worry. Would Alice have 'seen' this? Could Edward 'hear' this? How far did Jasper's feel of emotions get to? And what the hell was wrong with me?

Suddenly, a broad smile broke out on Carlisle's face. He let out a gush of air. "Bella, this is amazing…Extraordinary…" I sat bewildered, no clue what to do. "I think your gift is the will to look, smell and act like a human. To others, you're totally normal," his smile turned into a grin. "Which is why Edward thinks you're human."

"But I can eat food. I can taste the food and enjoy it. That's not will. And how come he hasn't noticed my missing heart beat?"

"I think because you were so," he searched for the right word. "Scared of being found out, you forced your gift to the extent it could go. It worked for a while but continuous presence around humans wore it down, which is why your throat started to hurt on your first or second day. I'm surprised you haven't tried to attack a patient yet. It's why your eyes are brown and why you can eat. As for your heart, I think you can mask the sound so most people would get distracted by something else. The fact you look so human makes us forget that it's needed perhaps."

"Today, in Biology we were blood typing. My throat flared when I saw blood, not because I could smell it because, I couldn't, just the sight. I had to fake being faint to get out of the classroom."

"You can't smell human blood?" I shook my head. "And animal?"

"I'm not sure, I normally cook for Charlie. He goes fishing quite a lot but the fish he catches are usually frozen for another time. They aren't too big either. And meat isn't as fresh if it were killed on a farm."

"You still see blood when you cook though?"

"Yes, but it doesn't really bother me. Maybe because I'm eating it too or because few people are around. It just smells of food when I cook it or cut it."

"How does your throat feel now?"

"It's like…someone's sand papering it down and each second it gets worse."

"You need to go hunting."

"Where exactly?" I gulped, terrified with the idea.

"Do you think you could last over night?"

"I think so. It should be okay if I stay out of crowds, right?"

"Precisely," he smiled. "Tomorrow, my family and I are all going hunting in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, south of Mount Rainier. You could join us."

"That's a preserve…" I trailed off.

"The law states we can't hunt with objects like guns. We hunt a little more primitively." He flashed his teeth to prove his point.

"Eww," I said, being the mature adult I nearly was. It made him laugh which was probably a good thing.

"The idea sounds horrible but it's a lot simpler. You let your instincts take over and fortunately for you, you won't have to stop yourself if you smell a human because you can't. You won't have to miss school either because it's Saturday."

"How am I going to join you? None of them know and I was hoping to keep it that way…"

His eye brows rose. "You were?"

"I wanted to keep it a secret and it seemed coincidence that I had to move to somewhere that rained almost constantly. But…" I smiled, closing my eyes for a while. "Haven't you ever wanted to get back at Edward? Now at least? He did throw a stapler at you."

"I'll let you know something, Bella. There's a slight war going on our home, which is probably the other reason he threw it."

"What's the other?"

"You'll have to ask him," he smiled. "What were you planning on doing to him?"

"Oh, not much. I was just going to string him along a little, playing the human card a little until he guessed. Of course it's getting harder now, I think he might know." Then a thought struck me. "He hasn't been listening in because of your war, has he?"

"No, even with the war, he'd respect your wishes."

"What time are you going hunting?" I asked.

"We are leaving around seven o'clock in the morning but I suggest you come a little later, say nine? The sun will come out around twelve." I nodded. I was nodding too much today. "Do you know how to get there?"

"It's off the 101 and then onto the interstate 5, isn't it?" He gave me an appraising look. "With a chief of police for a father you have to know a little about roads, even if you've hardly been there."

Unexpectedly, something beeped. Carlisle took out his phone and started to read what I presumed was a text. "Edward's on his way back and I probably need to get back to my other patients." My eyes went wide.

"Gosh, I've kept you for so long."

"It's not a problem, Bella. I'm grateful you've told me. Though, I'm not sure what the Quileute people would say if we had a new born near."

"What?"

"Nothing, don't worry. I really have to go now. Don't hesitate to come and visit again but this time please try to let it be at the house, instead of a hospital. I won't tell Edward and I'll guard my thoughts." He walked out into the hall and I was left with the orange again.

When I got into the reception again, Edward was leaning against a wall, his windswept hair wet with the light rain from outside. Each droplet clung to his copper hair but I was more absorbed in his eyes. It's strange how you can miss a person so much in the space of around twenty minutes. Female nurses, patients and the receptionist were all ogling him and I tried my best not to as well. He pushed off of the wall when I got to him and I was hit with a little of his scent…That's never happened before. Well, yes I could smell him but I was never hit with it and it was never quite that strong. Not that I was complaining, he smelt heavenly.

"Hi," he smiled his crooked smile.

"Hey," I smiled back.

"Everything okay?"

"Yep, my throat should be fine by tomorrow."

"Good, I'm glad," he glanced at the door and then back at me. "Shall we?"

"We shall," I said, a lot happier with the outcome of going to Forks' hospital. Most vampires wouldn't have ended up going in the doors and coming out with an explanation for what was going on with them. Most would end up attacking a few humans and terrorising the whole building. Nice. I blushed when we got to Edward's car, he had held the door open for me, as unoriginal as it sounds I still liked it. The engine purred as we left the parking lot and he put on a classical station. The song sounded eerie, strangely comforting and rather familiar too. I couldn't place it though…_Mozart?…__Vivaldi?…Bach?…_

"It's Beethoven."

"Huh?"_Aren't we articulate today, Bella?_

"The song. It's called the Moonlight Sanata."

"Oh," I said, taken aback. Then I smiled teasingly. "I thought you couldn't read my mind?"

"It was just a lucky guess. I tend to get them right."

"Most of the time," I murmured, knowing he'd hear.

"What do you mean?" He turned his head completely to face me, a frown in place.

"Watch the road, please!" I squeaked.

He sighed. "We won't crash."

"I don't care, watch the road and for my sake slow down a little." Okay, I admit, I didn't _need_ to do this but I didn't want to be in a crash either. And besides, it was fun. Being human around vampires was fun now. They couldn't endanger my life quite so much as before.

He slowed down to eighty miles per hour with an annoyed look on his face. "Happy?"

"No, but it's better than a hundred and twenty."

He shook his head and we were silent for a while. "What did you mean?"

"By most of the time?" He nodded. "I will tell you, just not today."

"That's three in one day." He frowned "When do I get answers?"

"Sometime in the near future, I promise Edward. The very near future."

"How near is very near?"

"Near enough."

"You're so cryptic. I don't understand why but I'm going to find out…" I was quiet. "Does that scare you?"

"No, I'm planning on you finding out and when you do I think I can tell you those three."

That seemed to make him smile. "I'll hold you to that, Bella."

The rest of the drive was relatively calm, with only the occasional comment on something like the school or me chiding Edward for speeding again. I understood the 'need for speed' as it were but he should be able to slow down at some point. He was mysterious himself and I felt I didn't know enough about him. I wanted to know everything about him. I didn't care if it was bad, I just wanted to know. Hobbies, likes, dislikes, everything. He pulled up to my house and my truck was parked in the driveway, just like Edward said it would be. He cut the engine off as I reached for my bag which I hadn't realised I'd left before going into the hospital. He winced suddenly.

"Alice is inside. Shopping on her mind too."

"Why would she come here?"

"I think she wants to shop with _you_," he smirked.

"_No_," I whined, being terribly childish.

"You don't like shopping?"

"Only if it involves books or CDs," a warm smile crossed his lips so I was surprised with his next words.

"She seems to need to speak to you about something important," he scowled. "I can't hear what. She's blocking me."

"Oh," I said, reaching for the door handle, "I better see what then."

"Bye Bella," he breathed, and his concentrated scent flew into my face as his eyes smouldered, again.

"Bye Edward," I breathed back. He blinked as if I stunned him.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Now, we can't speak on the way back because Edward will guess that you're coming. We need to surprise him, and try not to breathe, it won't help." Alice went on with the plan.

It wasn't really a plan, it was just turn up at the Cullens' house, walk into Edward's room and say boo. Alice had seen all of Carlisle's conversation with me so that was another member of the clan in on my secret. She also, almost had to drag me to Port Angeles' shops, bribing me with how I'd look nice and how I'd make Edward's jaw drop, making me blush. Of course she knew I liked him, _of course_. Though, I had quickly learned not to anger Alice because she would come at you with one of two looks; the glare or the pout. It didn't matter which, you were doomed by the start. I did however, end up getting in one book shop, while Alice was in Victoria's Secret because I plain refused to set foot in it. She just said she'd get me something anyway. I really got along with Alice, and even if I had only just really met her today, it felt like I had known her all my life. She had told me her story, how she was found in an asylum and no clue of how she got there or of her human life. Whilst she spoke I was unaware that she had bought me a new wardrobe. Okay, I was aware but her tale was too enthralling to care at the time. I cared now.

"Did you have to buy so much?"

"Yes," she said, rummaging through my closet, pulling my clothes out and throwing them on the floor. She held up an old jumper that I hadn't worn in two years. It scarcely fit me any more and was left over from when I used to have my summer holiday in Forks. "I mean, have you seen this?"

"Okay, I admit that's bad but did you have to get all of this?" I gestured at all of the bags at our feet. "_And _not let me pay for any of it?"

"Yes, I did," she said, returning to the closet, muffling her voice. "And you still won't be paying for it." I sighed, giving it up. Swiftly, she spun around and screeched. I cringed at the high pitched noise. "I have just seen you in the best outfit _ever_!" She began digging around in the bags and once she had found what she was looking for, held them up, pushed me towards the bathroom and handed me the pile. The trousers were dark jeans and the top was short and ivory. One shoulder had quant frills on it while the other was a simple strip and the black piece of fabric tied together under the bust. It was actually really nice, something I'd want to wear if the occasion arose, because it certainly wasn't casual. Plus, I didn't recognise the labels and they felt…rather expensive to say the least. Oh, and I didn't remember her picking them out or me trying them on. **(Profile)**

"Alice," I started, walking back into my room. "Where are these clothes from?"

"England."

"Then how much were they?" I said, almost shaking.

"The jeans were forty pounds and the top was twenty - eight," she said, buzzing.

"What's that in dollars?" I said, petrified.

"Around a hundred and thirty five all together."

"What?! I can't wear these!"

"You can and you will," she said firmly. "Besides," in a lighter tone now, "not many people would turn down clothes from TopShop."

"What's a TopShop?"

She gasped. "Bella, you've never heard of TopShop?" I shook my head. "It's possibly one of the best chains of English clothes shops over the UK. Next to River Island and Monsoon it's a god! Although, if your reaction to the clothes was like this you'd most likely end up in Primark," she scoffed.

"Alice, I'm not wearing them."

"Yes you are, just because they're from England doesn't make them toxic. And I've got you all of these other clothes too. You'll look amazing in all of them…" Oh great, here comes the pout again.

"Fine!" I said, giving up.

"And just for the record Bella, you are anything but plain," she said, referring to my earlier comment with Carlisle. Luckily, she didn't see my blush. Alice had parked at the end of the street, so carefully that Edward and I hadn't noticed the giant Jeep as we drove by. She climbed up into the driver's seat while I got in next to her. She could hardly see over the wheel and reach the floor at the same time. This worried me to no end and Alice picked up on it. "We won't crash, and we can't die so there's no problem." I huffed and she rolled her eyes at me.

The drive was quick, considering Alice's speeding. We drove down the main road while she chattered away about something shoes or the latest dress from Versace but after a while she had to zip it because we were getting close and talking to yourself wasn't normal – even for Alice. The pathway towards their home was unmarked, turning off from a small road while the green Hoh forest whizzed past us. We hardly felt the road under us, thanks to Rosalie whom Alice told about as we were shopping. She had most likely fiddled with the suspension and that was about all of my car knowledge in one, besides the basics, brakes, gear stick, hand breaks, et cetera… After a few miles of driving on the dirt track, the trees thinned out, revealing what seemed to be a pasture… or a lawn maybe? Six large trees copied the surrounding forest, keeping the gloominess calm but the cedars didn't attract my attention. It was the timeless three story house that we were pulling up to. I could hear the bubbling of a river near by, a roar of triumph coming from the ground floor and soft music from the third. Alice got out of the Jeep as did I and pressed her index finger to her lips. I nodded, saying I understood and followed her into the house.

The inside of the Cullen household was very bright. The hall was wide and open, making the room feel larger than it really was. The wall that faced the south had been replaced with glass and I could see the river I'd heard before. A giant curving staircase stood out in the west side of the room and the walls were high with the carpets that varied on different shades of white. I had to suppress my 'wow' and Alice could see this. She grabbed a pen and pad of paper from a side table and wrote quickly, her writing clearer than any I'd ever seen.

'_Don't say wow yet, you'll ruin it and Edward will hear.  
He's at the top of the house, follow the music and DON'T GET  
SEEN! Someone will think your name and he'll come running  
down the stairs, I've seen it! Just to let you know, if you do mess it up,  
we'll go shopping and if you don't we'll go in celebration on  
you scaring him. Either way you won't get out of it! Go!'_

I rolled my eyes at my impending doom as she grinned and ran of into another room where masculine yells and noisy bashings of what I assumed were controllers to a games console were coming from. I was left to fend for myself. Timidly, and I say that as an understatement, I crept up the stairs, praying no one would want or need to come up or down them. For _once _I was glad for vampire abilities. My distracting or whatever it was would keep attention away from my dead heart. I got to the second floor of the house and I could hear at least two people. I passed a room where I could hear the scratches of a fountain pen. Someone else, it sounded female, was humming a tune and I dashed into an airing cupboard, directly opposite the stairs to avoid getting caught. Through the gaps between the wooden door, I could see a woman, Esme with a basket of washing. My breath caught. Did everyone have to look so beautiful? She was like Snow White, taken from a fairy tale and dropped into the real world. She paused, tilting her head as if she had heard something.

_Me. _

Seconds passed. After a moment she shook her head and walked down the stairs. I slipped out when I was sure she was gone, and continued my trek. The music was louder the higher into the house I got. It was nice, a soft Jazz number. Not loud as in heavy metal but the closer I seemed to get to it the more it drifted into my mind, making it feel louder. Edward's door was simple, not how I expected it to be and I didn't know how I had either. It was a normal wooden door. _This_, I reminded myself, _is the most crucial part… __**Shut up! **_The other half of my brain screamed. _**There's no use going documentary on yourself. It won't help and stop stalling! **_It was right…I was right. I walked soundless, so very grateful that the door wasn't shut properly, only to. It didn't trail on the carpet as I pushed it, it didn't squeak. It just did was a door did. Opened.

Edward's room was large. The same glass wall that I had seen downstairs continued and I realised that the whole back of the house must have been glass. To my left were rows and rows of CDs and in the corner of the room, an expensive looking sound system sat, turned on with a disc spinning. On the walls hung heavy fabric, presumably for the acoustics and the carpet was a thick, gold colour. On the carpet, lay a very inviting black leather sofa with a very inviting Edward. His eyes were closed, he looked to be in deep thought and were it not because I knew he was a vampire, I would have thought him to be asleep. There was a frown on his face but he inhaled deeply as I entered the room and a small smile replaced it. I wondered what he could be thinking about. I walked over, somewhat gracefully, to the end of the sofa and watched him. His eyes were still closed and the frown had mixed back in with the smile.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, making him jump and fall to the floor. I held in my laughter.

"Bella?" His eyes were wide.

"What were you thinking about?" I repeated.

"Nothing."

I put on a fake glare. "You owe me one now."

"You owe me three. What are you doing here?"

"I was assisting Alice in the war?"

"Were you now?" he said, eyes scorching and a raised eyebrow.

"Mmm." I could hear Alice jumping up and down, stating her victory and everyone else in the house exclaiming about how they didn't hear (or smell for that matter) a human get into their home. I was quite proud myself but I wasn't doing an Alice. Everyone seemed to be trampling, if vampires could, up to Edward's room to see if I was really here, which I was to my knowledge. My mind couldn't have dreamt up this amazing house and its amazing occupants.

"See, I need bonus points," Alice declared as she walked in. Each of the Cullens, besides Edward and Alice weren't surprised. Esme, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie all looked outright astonished while Carlisle looked like he had to stop himself from clapping to congratulate me.

"Alice," Emmett said, staring at me like I had grown another head. "You _get_ bonus points."

Esme seemed to shake herself from her shock and walk over to me. I was swept up into a warm hug. "It's so good to finally know you Bella."

"You too," I smiled. More pleasantries were tossed around and I found I was getting along with everyone however Rosalie nearly gave me the cold shoulder and Jasper didn't come too close because of my gift. I gave him a sympathetic look and he shot back one of confusion. I grinned and Edward took action, politely asking everyone to get out of his room. I took a seat on the sofa and _then _he flung the Spanish Inquisition at me. What was my favourite colour, my favourite flowers, did I have a favourite holiday, did I have any pets in Phoenix, did I have any hobbies, play any sports, books, music, draw, write. Anything and everything about me. Eventually it turned into Twenty Questions where we'd throw one after the other, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I asked him about his life before he became a vampire.

"Carlisle first found me in a hospital near Chicago in 1918. The Spanish Influenza had struck and I was dying from it. Both my parents were already gone and Carlisle had been debating on whether he needed a companion. He wasn't completely sure on how his transformation had happened, so he was wary and more over, he didn't want to take someone's life the way his had been. There was no hope for me though. I had been left on a ward with the rest of the dying patients. He was my parents' doctor and knew I was on my own. So, he tried…" His voice, which had been only hesitant at the beginning faded away. We could both hear the quiet conversations below us but I wasn't satisfied with his mood.

"Is that good though? You were going to die, you got another chance."

He sighed. "At first I thought it was a miracle, I had survived an infectious disease that was going to kill me. I should have been ecstatic about it but I quickly saw the difference between human life and vampire life. Before I," he paused, still debating whether to tell me his story, his voice getting slightly harsh. "I was keyed up on the war." He said darkly. "I wanted to fight for my country, come home a hero but when the flu struck, it wiped out so many people. I doubt any of my friends were alive when I still was. I've been on this planet far longer that was intended for me, Bella," He scowled, unseeingly through the large window. "Over a century and I hate what I am. What I've become."

"You can't say th –"

"I can. You're not the one who's going to be seventeen forever," he snapped. I looked to the floor, upset with his tone but still finding the humour in the moment. We were both going to be seventeen for the rest of eternity whether he liked it or not. "I'm sorry Bella. I shouldn't have got angry at you. It wasn't your fault."

"It's not yours either."

"Nor Carlisle's." We were silent for a while. "What happened, Bella? How _do_ you know about us?"

This time I was hesitant with telling my story. I seemed to be just as touchy about my human life as he was his but if I looked human… I didn't have to tell him the whole story, did I? "Remember when I told you about Phoenix?" He nodded. "The man and woman were vampires. It was around four PM when I got home, the sun was still up and I walked in. My step - dad was already dead, bleeding at my feet. They made me watch the man attack and kill my mom," my eyes were watering. I was pulled into a sideway hug. His chin rested on the top of my head.

"I'm sorry Bella. It must have been bad enough loosing your mother and step father but to have vampires involved…"

"Thank you, Edward. Would it be creepy to say I feel better with you around?" I blushed as the words slipped out of my mouth.

I could hear the smile as he spoke. "Would it be creepy to say I feel the same way?" My blush deepened.

We didn't do much after that. Only talk and that was anything that crossed our minds. I got on with him as if I had known him all my life and if it weren't Edward I would have been scared. He asked me if I was hungry once and I said no…because I wasn't. Before I saw Carlisle, I had just been eating because I was following a routine, trying to stay as human as possible. But now I knew I didn't need to eat, it didn't seem to bother me. It did seem to bother Edward though and it took a while for him to leave it. Well, I'm sure no_good _vampire would want a human to die on him. In the end I did have to go home, much to my dismay. We walked out of the large house towards the Volvo.

"Bella, wait!" Alice called from the front door, rushing over with something in her arms. Books. "Here, I heard you needed new reading material," her eyes glinted knowingly.

"Thank you _so much_, Alice," I said. She probably knew how bored I got at night.

"Not a problem. Have fun!" she winked. I gave her a scrutinising look, as did Edward. The car ride itself was quiet and surprisingly slow. Edward liked to speed but it was as if he didn't want me to go. My dead heart soared at the idea. We pulled up into the driveway and pulled the key out of the ignition. We both got out and I took out my key for the front door.

"You're going hunting tomorrow, aren't you?" I asked, playing the human card.

"Carlisle told you, didn't he?"

"Yep," he nodded and I walked over to my front door. Edward stood opposite me, eyes smouldering like always. I was sure that they were the perfect shade of gold, even when they were getting darker. At times I thought they were pure liquid. "I should probably get inside now."

I blushed and he chuckled quietly but what I did next stopped him in his tracks.

"Goodnight Edward," I said and kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

**A/N: **Have you seen how long that scroll bar is?  
This is 15 pages long! At least 6 more than usual! This took me so long to get up because I tried to get everything in, smooshed into one 'compact' chapter. Obviously not so compact. There is a reason Bella hasn't kissed Edward yet (properly anyway). She wants to wait 'till there are no secrets between them and PLEASE DON'T WORRY! You don't have long to wait 'till Edward guesses! A picture of the **hospital** and **Bella's outfit** are up as is a link to the **TopShop website **for those planning to visit the UK (naming no names Annilaia!) 

Still, I'm off to play me some Wii.

Emma

PS: The song is called** Seventeen Forever** and is by **Metro Station**. It screams Edward so I suggest you go listen.


	8. Read My Mind

**After reading the reviews on the stupid link **[grr** I'm just uploading it now. Of course, you can still be good and read Bella until the end but as I said, it fits in here, so it's going here. I'm really sorry for the upsets with this chapter but I hope you enjoy it!  
...Happy readings...**

* * *

_Oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind,  
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine,  
Before you go, can you read my mind?_

* * *

"Um," she started. "Do you think this could be private?" Her head looked over to where I was sitting and I only just masked my hurt in time. 

"That's fine Bella," I said calmly. I walked towards the door and I could feel them both watching me. Bella rushed over to me, making me stop. I obviously hadn't hidden it well enough.

"It's one of those things that I will tell you, but now isn't the right time." I looked down into her perfect face, guilt covering it. 

"There seem to be a lot of them," I sighed. 

"I need to ask Carlisle something. Please trust me, Edward," she pleaded.

My jaw clenched and I shut my eyes for a few seconds. "How can I trust you if you don't trust me?"

"I do trust you, more than you know." I gazed into her beautiful big brown eyes, the pools of chocolate that captivated me. She was begging and it was all I could do not to kiss her then and there, I just didn't know if I could survive the pain if I killed her because of it.

"Okay."

"Edward, if Bella wants this to be private I'll have to ask you not to listen to my thoughts." _She'll tell you in her own time. Whatever it is, she will._

I nodded, both to the thought, silent and spoken. "I need to pick up the others anyway. I'll come back to get you, Bella. You have no way to get home if I don't." I made a small smile, telling her I wasn't angry with her and left. The door shut quietly behind me and walked away from the room.

"What is it that you need to…?" Carlisle's voice was covered by the noise of the waiting room. As usual the women ogled me and I got death glares from the men. The receptionist gave me flirtatious wink and I sighed quietly. I was used to this treatment and ignored it completely. My mind was elsewhere, mainly on Bella. She was a mystery. 

The first day I saw her, across that crowded lunch hall, I knew she was different. Partly because I couldn't read my mind but there was something else. At that time, I was a little preoccupied with getting into her head but there was something unmistakable about her. Jasper seemed to agree and Alice was just herself. Bubbly and picking out the best outfit she should wear. That was Alice's mind generally; evaluating clothes and criticising them. I really didn't know how Jasper could stand her constantly. I found nothing wrong with Bella until Biology. She smelt divine, angelic, blissful, all the words you could think of and I could hardly stop myself from attacking the whole class just to get to her. I tried to get out of that class and _she_ ended up apologising. I left for a week, spoke to the Denali clan about what happened and got quite a bit of advice from Eleazar who had to move because of the potential attack he would commit. He found Denali, built the house there and realised that it would be perfect for training vampires to become 'vegetarian'. 

"Edward," he had said, accent showing in his words. "I can see you're upset about leaving your family. You want to go back and see them but you don't want to attack the girl. I can see, no, I know you are stronger than this. You've gone longer than most could without human blood. There's no reason why you can't overcome this. Besides, what is she but another human? Another challenge for your control?"

"Her scent, it seems so insignificant now," I had said and we lapsed into our own thoughts. 

I drove back to Forks a little while after that. I had made my mind up that I _would_ be pleasant and I would concentrate on working out why I couldn't read her mind. It would distract me from her glorious fragrance and I didn't want her to think I hated her, I didn't. I just hated her blood. I watched her at lunch, after Jessica's mind had called out to me, seeing how strange she looked in amongst humans. It didn't look natural despite her being one. She looked out of place. Jasper shot me looks now and then while Alice and Emmett began their part of the war by throwing food. Rosalie was watching with a bemused expression but her thoughts were on her M3. Eventually, we had to move on to our next lessons. I tried to be as polite as possible with her scent overpowering me. I had never had to rely on expressions to work out what people were thinking before and I found it indescribably strange. Despite all my efforts, _I made her cry. _Just seeing her face struck with absolute misery made my frame quiver with anger and despair. I helped her out of the class, holding her arms to stop her shuddering body shivering quite so violently. Her loud sobs echoed in the hallway as she sank to the floor. I sat next to her, doing my best to comfort her. I was such a monster. She told me her story, how her mother was murdered and she found her step - father dead. I pulled her into my arms, thinking about how a simple girl shouldn't have suffered so much and how I could stand to be so close to her after one day. That was the life we had, us as vampires. The next day she almost got hit by a truck. Right at the point when I thought nothing else could go wrong but as always, this world surprised you. And when you thought nothing else could happen after that, it does. She saw me saving her. Denying concussion, we ended up at the hospital. She was examined by Carlisle and the x-rays showed nothing. He wasn't happy that she knew and I wasn't exactly pleased either. 

The next month was the hardest of my life. Things were meant to get slightly better after something terrible has come your way but that didn't seem to be the case for me. She was attacked by questions left, right and centre and it shocked me that she would tell everyone that I saved her. Even if it was true, I never really expected her to give me the credit. So many times I'd wanted to tell her I didn't want this space between us or to give her the silent treatment but it was for her own safety. It was the day Mike asked her to the dance that I spoke to her. Emotion coursed through my body like never before and I felt so incredibly angry… I'd never known anything like it before. I had to explain, show I didn't hate her for what happened but it turned utterly confusing. She started saying how she 'needed' friends like us. No human could possibly _need_ vampires as friends. I didn't know if she was purposely twisting her words to make them mysterious but what ever it was, if she was trying to perplex me, it was working. It ended on a bad note, not what I planned at all. Through the course of the day, she was asked to the dance two more times, and I finally figured out what I was feeling. Jealousy…I had never known an emotion so strong. I knew what it was meant to feel like but nothing compared to really feeling it. I had to stop in front of her truck, just to check. I needed to know whether she was just getting out of the dances. When she had politely declined Tyler's offer, I couldn't help but have to control my laughter. Her beautiful face scrunched up in annoyance was truly adorable and funny at the same time. Everyone shot me strange looks afterwards. When we got back I had decided that there were too many hours in between school so I knew I would see her. I battled myself, saying how it was wrong to break into someone's house and watch her sleep, not to mention illegal. What if I got caught? What if she woke up? What if she didn't? I tried not to think about it as I ran and silently crept into her home. Her father was asleep in his bed so I knew I could go up without being over cautious. I still didn't know why I couldn't read her mind. She was asleep when I opened the door, chocolate locks splayed out on the pillow and her back facing me. She began mumbling my name, sighing now and then. It made my dead heart swing. She rolled over when I said her name, as if she was even listening to me in her sleep. Then her eyes flew open. I was up in a second from where I was kneeling and then pinned to the floor in the next. _She was sitting on me. _I was caught. 

"Morning," she had said pleasantly. I had kept quiet hoping I could melt into the floor. "Good morning Edward."

"Bella," I said, face pressed into the floor boards.

She asked me what I was doing here, and to be perfectly honest, I only just knew now but didn't want to think it. "Edward…" she had warned.

"I wanted to see you."

"At night? At two in the morning?"

I frowned at the wood and her wall out of the corner of my eye. "Yes. I thought you'd be sleeping." Then I'd felt her tense on my back, and heard her gasp lightly. "Why aren't you asleep by the way?"

"I'm somewhat of an insomniac," was all she said on the matter and the grin was apparent in her voice.

Eventually, she let me up and I went to the window, ready to run back to the house. What she said after that actually made me trip at the edge of the forest, for the first time in my vampire life. Alice was giggling by the time I got back but her mind was on what was going to happen at school. I had scowled but I also had to face the harsh reality that she did know about us. Whatever we, or more likely, I did, she had seen the pointers. I couldn't deny it now though; I knew I was in love with her. Jasper had even commented on it; his thoughts and out loud. The next day, Bella and I had got everything straight but something didn't seem to fit. I still felt like she was hiding something from me, in the same way I felt that she didn't seem to fit in. Maybe that was wishful thinking, hoping she didn't fit in like us, I didn't know. I did worry for her, her throat troubled her and she looked as if she was in exceeding pain. I had no choice but to take her to see Carlisle, and crashing into me seemed to put the icing on the cake. 

There was a sharp knock on the window that snapped me out of thoughts. Jasper stood at the passenger door with an eyebrow raised._Reminiscing, are we brother? _I scowled at him. My siblings slid gracefully into my car, falling into meaningless banter and I drove out of the parking lot. _Seriously, the amount of nostalgia, longing and hurt coming off you is rather scary. Is it Bella? _I glowered at the road and tilted my head down a little. _Ahh, is it something to do with the hospital? Alice said you were taking her there. _My eyes went wide. Alice had seen something! I immediately zoned in on her thoughts.

_Une pelouse digère Edward._ Alice thought loudly in French._ Pourquoi n'est-ce pas le carburant émeute près d'une fiction fromage? BONBONS! Les vampires ajuster le calcul besoin. Est-ce que le vocabulaire perroquet s'asseoir dans la petite galaxie? Pourquoi pas un charbon égard Edward? Le charme des glissades. Emmett colères le noyau.__ L'éditeur stupide localise le policier en dehors de la voiture en bois.__Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix, onze, douze, treize, quatorze…_

"I'm worried about her," I mumbled. _Bella? _I shook my head._Alice? _A weak nod. Jasper gave me exasperated daggers while I realised that she had never blocked me quite so hard. Something was up.

"Alice?"_ Vos fournitures climatiques adopté le chien sous le chancelier._ She looked up. "I understand that you don't want me listening but, um, keep it down?" She grinned menacingly at me, saying nothing. "You'll crack soon, pixie. Don't worry." The next thing I knew, a harsh pain came from my arm. Jasper shot me a deadly look and so did Alice. In the back, Rosalie raised an eyebrow, amused and Emmett started sniggering.

_Last warning, Edward, _Jasper growled, punching me again.

"You know, that actually hurt," I said, appalled. The rest of the car journey was spent with mindless chatter. Alice kept up her irritating thoughts all the way, and a blinding beam of a smile plastered to her face. Jasper thought it was sweet that she was so happy, I thought it was just creepy. Emmett and Rosalie's thoughts were getting rather risqué by the time we got to the house and Alice asked me where I was going when I didn't get out of the car. I began texting Carlisle, without looking up at her.

"You've seen where I'm going, so I don't really think you need to ask that. Nor will I answer it." She rolled her eyes with a small smile. 

When trying to be discreet about your existence, it doesn't help when humans stare at you. It just attracts more attention. So far I had the receptionist, the same woman with a cut on her forehead, a student clutching her ribcage all gaping at me and the man with the gash on his knee scowling at me. The only person who didn't seem to stare at me for possible illegal reasons was a little girl, her mind intent on her favourite cartoon programmes. 

"Can I help you, Edward?" the receptionist called to me.

"No thank you, I'm fine," I smiled politely. Another problem, family connections. Humans knew me because of Carlisle working here. I sighed angrily. She went back to her desk, manning the phones and glancing at me, dangerous thoughts following them. 

I smelt her before I saw her. The freesia tinted with lavender and I didn't know how a human could smell so luxurious. It verged on breaking out the monster within me but it also made me want to bask in its glory. Obviously, it didn't compare a fraction to Bella herself. Her long chocolate hair made me want to run my fingers through it and her warmth… I very nearly sighed out loud. 

"Hi," I said and smiled stupidly as she came up to me.

"Hey," she replied softly. 

It amazed me how easy it was to talk to her. I had never met a human so easily to get along with but then again, I had never fallen in love before, so I wouldn't know what was what. The feeling was unnerving but astounding simultaneously. All too soon we had to say goodbye, because of Alice screaming at me with her thoughts. _Wrap it up, Edward. We don't have all day, she needs to sleep…_she had thought with slight humour. 

"She seems to need to speak to you about something important, I can't hear what," and that annoyed me considerably. "She's blocking me."

"Oh," she reached for the door handle. "I better see what then."

"Bye Bella," I breathed, blowing my breath in her face.

"Bye Edward," she did the same back and for a moment, all I couldn't think. I was in a world of freesia but when I came to, she was already inside.

-----------------------------------------------------

I pressed play on the remote to the CD player, and the machine spun to life. I flopped back onto my sofa, creating a quiet 'thump' sound, closing my eyes. I didn't want to have to wait for school to see Bella but I couldn't risk creeping into her room like that again. She… She was a mystery that I couldn't understand, filled with secrets that could puzzle me for hours on end. Not only that but Alice had no real reason to block me unless she was in on something, which meant she knew about Bella. I wasn't ecstatic about that because that meant Carlisle knew too. He was almost too precise at blocking me. I heaved a sigh. It aggravated me but in a good way, if possible. I had to except Bella came with secrets and to be perfectly honest; I didn't want it any other way. Her secrets were part of her, like her deep eyes were and her soft voice was. I just had to take the time to unravel them. 

Hour passed as I lay thinking. 

"YES!" Emmett roared from downstairs. "I did it! You thought you could win with making me feel nervous but NO! Bow down to me!" 

"Emmett," Jasper said calmly. "No." Emmett started grumbling, thoughts going on about how he'd 'make Jasper bow down to him one day' and went to change the game. Soon enough, the infernal tapping started again. We had gone through over six controllers in the past month thanks to Emmett's strength and Jasper's goading of emotions. I only got involved every now and then, usually only because Jasper was out hunting or with Alice. Emmett was way too completive for his own good. 

I went back to my thoughts on Bella and what she'd told me. There was something wrong but maybe I needed to know the full story before I could start piecing her together. I was getting rather a big obsession with her, but wasn't that love? Not being able to get them off your mind at all. Not even when you try. Her perfect face. Deep eyes. Red, plump lips. Lips I could never kiss, no matter how much I wished. I still fought the blood lust being so close to her but what could I do? I was too selfish to send her away and also too selfish to send myself away. I was a danger to her life. Who does that to their love? 

_There. Perfect. It is an obsession, I'm smelling her now. _At that point I was insanely glad I was the only mind reader in the house. My mind was a mess and this was proof. Wonderfu–

"What are you thinking about?" 

My eyes were open faster than a human blink. I knew that gentle voice all too well. "Bella?"

She stood at my feet, staring at me, head slightly tilted to the side. Eyelashes unconsciously fluttering at me. "What were you thinking about?" she repeated.

"Nothing," I said like a deer caught in the headlights.

She glared. "You owe me one now." 

"You owe me three." I paused. "What are you doing here?"

"I was assisting Alice in the war?" she turned it into a question.

"Were you now?" I said, wondering how she found out about it. The commotion downstairs was storming up them, lead by Alice. 

"See, I need bonus points," she declared once in my room. The gaping vampires were staring at my Bella, no, Bella. She wasn't mine. 

"Alice," Emmett said, staring. "You _get_ bonus points."

The rest of the time she was at the house, we spend our time talking. Anything that crossed our minds, it started at favourite colours and moved onto things like 'have you ever heard a joke involving dead babies?' We didn't need to know the basics, and it was the random, crazy questions that define a person, knowing whether they've ever smashed a window or thrown a bag of flour at someone. However, we did end up talking about serious topics and I snapped at her, which I feel guilty about to this day. 

"I should probably get inside now," she said when we were at her door. She blushed and I laughed quietly at the involuntary reaction but the next thing she did stopped it completely. 

"Goodnight, Edward," she mumbled and kissed my on my cheek.

This was wrong, so very wrong.

* * *

AN: Hooray?

EDWARD'S GONE ALL ANGSTY ON US! FETCH THE VAMP-BREGADE! hums London's burning

So, successfully chapter 7.5 is up (well, not really but someday in the future it will be). Back to Bella POV now…

**Alice Translation**: Why can't the fuel riot near a fictional cheese? SWEETS! The vampires adjust the computational need. Does the vocabulary parrot sit in the small galaxy? Why won't a coal regard Edward? A lawn digests Edward. The charm slips. Emmett angers the kernel. The stupid publisher locates the policeman outside the wooden car. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen… Your adopted climate supplies the dog underneath the chancellor.

Emma

PS: The song is **Read My Mind** by **The Killers**.

Do you laugh at Edward in socks? I do! (Eddie rox sox)


	9. Shrouded Frost, Mountain Air

_And together there,  
In a shroud of frost, the mountain air,  
Began to pass from every pane of weathered glass,  
And I held you closer than anyone would ever get._

* * *

"Morning Bells," Charlie said as I walked down the stairs. It was eight and I had finished one of Alice's books about an hour and a half ago. When seven flicked onto my clock my thoughts went straight to Edward and the hunt. Not that I hadn't thought of him before then but that night had been possibly one of the most important in my life. I had put the pieces together and realised I was head over heels for him. A warm feeling erupted in my chest when I thought about him and at times I would day dream while reading.

"Morning Ch– Dad," I replied, correcting myself. He was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. "Have you have breakfast yet? I'm going to make pancakes."

"If you would. I don't know how I managed without you. I can't even remember what I must have eaten," he chuckled. I took out the mix from the cupboard, thankful for the times I'd gone shopping for food. I didn't know how he survived. "Any plans for today?" _Not much, just attacking a wild beast in a national park._

"Um, I was thinking of going to Olympia or Seattle for the day," I braced myself for his reaction.

"Not alone I hope?"

"No, I'm going with some friends. You know Alice Cullen, right?"

"Yeah, the Cullens are good kids. I thought that a whole bunch of adopted teens would be trouble but they're fine. Are you sure your truck can make it all the way? It's really far."

"I'll stop at gas stations. I'll be fine, Dad." He frowned all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing," he muttered, looking back to the paper.

"Dad…"

He fumbled with his words. "It's just, I hardly ever see you Bells. We've been working so hard down at the station. Steve's on his honeymoon and Adam's got his baby son to look after so I've been working double shifts. I'm meant to be here for you after your mom…" he trailed off.

"Look," I said, taking a seat next to him. "You may not think you've been the best father to me, but you're the only one I'm ever going to get. I understand that you're busy and that it's hard to look after us both… It doesn't matter, I know you want to be around here and I know that you love me." He pulled me to his chest in a fatherly gesture and kissed my temple, his way of saying thank you I suppose. I went back to the pancakes. Making them kept my hands busy but not my mind. I kept envisioning myself attacking a poor defenceless creature and not caring at all. I couldn't see myself doing it but I couldn't say I didn't need it either. Well, that and Edward. But my throat was barely tolerable now and I didn't know if I'd end up snapping out at Charlie if I wasn't careful.

If there was some sort of bizarre force working above me, deciding who I was to meet, what was going to happen to me and whether it would seriously affect me… Call it fate, call it destiny, call it whatever, it seemed to like me a lot. The house telephone that had once been covered in enchilada sauce rang, forcing Charlie to tear himself away from the Sports Column and answer it. He was on for a few minutes, nodding and mumbling as I mixed the batter, looking at him out of the corner of my eye. He placed it down in its holder and let out a big sigh.

"Who was that dad?"

"Adam. He needs me down at the station, said something about graffiti and the CCTV cameras picking something up," he sighed again. "I'm really sorry, Bells."

"Don't worry about it. I understand and you wouldn't see much of me anyway, even if you were here today," I smiled and he returned a sympathetic one, something I didn't really grasp. He went upstairs to don his uniform.

After I'd finished my pancake – only one because I wasn't exactly looking forward to attacking something on a full stomach – I went to my room to change out of my pyjamas into simple jogging bottoms and an old white t-shirt. I put my new clothes in a drawstring bag so I had something to wear after I got messy, because there was no way I wasn't going to. Animals had blood, lots and lots of blood and I'd have to deal with that as best as I could. I put a compass in too because I didn't want to get lost. Charlie had left a while ago and I was essentially unsure about taking my truck. It could barely go over fifty and if it took two to three hours to get to Seattle via the ferry, it would take a lot longer to get to near Olympia.

_You could run…_The thought flew around my head like a flock of birds. I could run but I'd just end up falling. Then again, I hadn't really run at full speed, whatever that was. I shook my head, and decided to take the truck as far as I needed and park on a secluded road if I wanted to run, or try to at least. Grabbing my keys, I made for the front door and pulled it shut behind me. I opened the door to my truck and threw my bag in so it landed on the passenger seat. Key in ignition, turn key... The engine gurgled. I tried again. Nothing. Once more. Nope. I hit my head on the steering wheel, causing the horn to beep and making me jump. I wasn't a mechanic, I didn't know how to fix a car, let alone a truck that was nearly sixty years old. I did not want this to happen, today of all days. I gave it one last try and the engine roared to life. Thank God. I needed an escape route if I didn't want to run, or found it hard, or kept tripping, or couldn't slow down, or something…

I wondered what Edward and the rest of the Cullens were doing. Hunting yes, but I wondered if the war had got anywhere other than Alice getting bonus points for sneaking me into the house. I wondered who would win, if anyone would win. I wondered if Edward looked at me the same way I looked at him. I wondered if my feelings would be returned if I told him I was in love with him. _Perhaps I've been too secretive with him and it's pushed him away._ The idea of never seeing him again hurt, like someone had stabbed me repeatedly in the chest. It was stupid to turn emotional pain into physical but who was I to dictate what love was meant to feel like. I'd never felt it before until now. I knew what it was meant to feel like, how you were meant to act, what it was meant to look like but I didn't know properly. My stomach would get butterflies if I thought his name and if my heart still beat, I'm sure it would go faster than ever before. It seemed unreal at times, I had only known him for, what? Ten weeks? I couldn't get him out of my head. I didn't know any other emotion that could go so fast in such a short amount of time. And what about how it would feel to actually touch him, hug him for longer than a few seconds, maybe even kiss him. It had been three quarters of an hour and I was driving along by Ruby Beach, a popular place for a love struck teen to take their hopeful other to watch the sun go down together. Presently, there were groups, setting up for the day, and messing about. I'd seen the view before and don't get me wrong, it was a lovely place but not very quiet. I'd prefer somewhere special, not a supposedly beautiful place that boys used to get into girls' pants in an allegedly romantic gesture. I didn't really want to go there if it was used to seduce people.

I turned down a few roads once I passed the beach and parked subtly in the midst of some trees. Although red could obviously be seen amongst green, there was so much of it, you wouldn't really notice it unless you looked. I put my bag on and locked the truck, wondering whether there was some sort of tact to running at vampire speeds. I had picked near Ruby Beach because it seemed sensible. Close enough to get back to and hidden. There was no real right way of doing this. Just start running. I took the compass out, slung the string around my neck and the bag back on my back. I checked it and turned a third of the way around so I was facing south-east. I tucked the compass under my t-shirt, prayed I wouldn't fall and ran.

I can't say I was running at the speed of light but it sure felt like I was. Only things directly in front of me were clear and everything else was a blur. Greens ranging from myrtle to lime whipped past me like never before. I didn't even have to think about dodging trees because it came so naturally. At times, I could feel scared enough to fall but the feeling of the speed over took that every time. The wind rushing my hair behind me, air gushing past and ducking out of the way of branches. It was… without a doubt, incredible. I had to concentrate on going in the right direction because it was all too easy to wander. Plus, I didn't know where I was going. I didn't particularly want to get lost in a forest. But it wasn't as if I wou–

_CRASH!_

Some_thing_ pushed me to the ground. There was pressure on my neck for a while until I pushed whatever it was back. Rosalie stared back at me, wide eyed and my only thought was what she was going to think, what Edward would hear. I quickly pulled my hand up, tapped my temple and put my index finger to my lips, hoping she would understand me. She nodded attentively, hopefully covering up her thoughts with something that sounded like her. I swiftly realised that this would be a game of charades. I pointed to myself and held my fingers up to my teeth, making them look like fangs. Rosalie raised her eyebrows and I knew I had to shush her. She nodded, bit her cheek as if she was thinking and held her hand out for me. I was still sitting on the floor and graciously took it. More quick thinking made me have to do another round of charades. I tapped my temple again, messed my hair a little and gave her a look to ask if she understood who I was on about. She nodded so I continued. I pointed at myself and shook my head. She nodded again and grinned a hundred watt smile. She mouthed 'are you here to hunt?' at me and I nodded. She dipped her head to the right, a sign to follow her and walked off. I did as she asked and we slowly started into a jog that must have looked like a sprint in human eyes.

Then she was gone and I heard another crash. I moved past some trees and saw Rosalie straddling Emmett, a thing I never planned on seeing nor wished to see it. She was whispering things in his ear and I could see his eyes go wider. He nodded abruptly and she stepped off him. I was sure if she was still human, she would be blushing. Emmett grinned at me and Rosalie joined in. What was up with these two and smiling? He gave a mock salute and motioned for me to follow. We started running and I was unexpectedly glad that I obviously wasn't lost but it made me think about how far I must have run in such a short amount of time. The two walked hand in hand, carefully, turning their heads now and then, sniffing the air. I should have probably been doing that too but I was taking it as it came. I didn't know what I was smelling for either. We walked in silence, Emmett occasionally looked at me with a stupid grin plastered to his face and amusement in his eyes. A soft, vanilla scent drifted on the breeze, crossing our noses and making my throat flare like never before.

Suddenly I was running. It felt like my mind was hardly connected to my body, my vision was dark and it seemed I could only see through a bright circle. Everywhere else around me was black, as if I were looking through binoculars. The heard of deer were only meters away but my arms were grabbed and I was pulled back. Someone was whispering calming things in my ear as I thrashed and snarled at them, trying to rip myself away from their clutches. "Go," the voice whispered and I didn't need telling twice. I was sprinting away from the voice and I could see my target, an aged doe with a limp. The heard began to run as I leapt onto its back. I sank my teeth into its fur, breaking through the flesh in under a second and sucking the delicious blood from its body. I dimly felt it falling to the ground but the vanilla essence in the red liquid was all I cared about. I had sucked it dry in under two minutes. Eight pints of blood, two less than a human.

I blinked.

I was covered in blood. Over my hands, up my arms, in my nails, staining my once white t-shirt and sinking into my jogging bottoms. I stood up, my breathing quickening. I stumbled back, looking at the carcass of the animal. I tripped over a root and landed on my hands and knees. So, I did what my old human body was used to doing in this kind of situation. I threw up. Over and over again I threw up but only the remnants of my breakfast came up. Slowly, I began to calm down, raking my fingers into the soil. Shakily, I stood and leant against a tree, pressing my face into the cool bark. I saw Rosalie and Emmett come up to me.

"Are you okay?" she whispered. I nodded.

"Just not too good with blood," I whispered back with a small smile, realising the idiocy of the situation. Emmett did as well and let out a booming laugh. Rosalie shot him a look that told him to shut up.

"Are you still thirsty?" I nodded again.

By ten to twelve, I'd attacked two more deer and one mountain lion and dry retched after every time. My throat had been dulled down to a low throbbing. I had said goodbye to Rosalie and Emmett a few minutes ago and was now confident that I wouldn't get lost. Well, as much as I could be. I had washed the blood off me and changed into normal clothes, wondering if the stains could come off, in a weak plunge pool. I was very close to Mount Rainier now, near the south side and although I wasn't cold, I could still tell it was. I never really was too good at hiking because I would always fall but I hadn't once. Maybe it was because I was more vampire today than human. I had no idea.

I was aware of someone's presence, somewhere near me. I crept through the forest, moving around trees until I came to a clearing. It was another waterfall, except this was really big. The plunge pool was a lot bigger than I'd have guessed, pushing out of its boundaries creating another, smaller fall but the person there was what really interested me. Edward sat near the pool, on an outcrop of stones that had fallen from the cliff. He was staring into the falling water like it would give him the answer to life. A frown had made its way onto his face and didn't match the rest of it. Even if he was a mind reader, it didn't stop _me_ wanting to know what he was thinking.

Hastily, his body froze and I wondered if he had smelt me. A minute went on with him like that and he didn't move, showing he hadn't but that he had realised something else. "She's a vampire," he murmured, awe covering his voice. Just like that time when he came to visit me at night, I chose my moment. I began walking down the gentle slope, away from the trees, my steps pushing the slate down to make a soft crinkling sound. Edward's head turned almost instantly, eyes harsh but softened after he saw me. He stood and we met each other at the partitioning where the water created the smaller waterfall. It was noisy but we could still hear each other. **(Profile.)**

"I know," he said.

"I know you know."

"I know you know I know."

"I know you know I know you know."

"I'm really confused," he said and added, "You know," just for fun. We both burst out laughing.

I sighed. "Carlisle has a theory that I can be more human or vampire if I wish. The first day I was scared that I wouldn't fit in after what happened to me so I unconsciously made myself smell, look and act more human. When you came back, I wanted to help you relax around you so I think I made myself a little more vampire like then. That's what we were talking about when I asked you to leave."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked and I could see he was slightly offended.

"At first, I thought you know and that I'd broken some sort of sacred rule when crossing onto land or insulted you without thinking but I realised it was my blood. I guessed you didn't know when you came to visit me and asked me why I wasn't sleeping. I'm not sure why I went along with it but I did. I think your whole family knows now because Rosalie attacked me by accident on the way here, Emmett, I think nearly did. Alice will have told Jasper and Carlisle, Esme. I can understand whether you don't want to speak to me anymore." He was silent. I heaved another sigh and turned back towards the trees.

"Bella, wait," he called to me.

"No, I understand," I said back and kept walking. "It was a horrible thing to keep from you and I'm sorry, so incredibly sorry."

"Bella." I felt his hand on my arm and I spun around, perhaps too quickly that what he was guessing. I lost my balance and grabbed onto his shirt for support but I was already toppling over. We fell into the plunge pool. The cool water hit us hard and we both swam to the surface for unnecessary air. Our chests were heaving from the shock of falling and we began to tread water. If I had been human, I would have been freezing but I wasn't. I would never be. Our treading caused us to start spinning in circles.

"Bella," he said, touching my arm again. "I think that's the most amazing thing anyone has ever done to me."

"What?"

"Think about it," he began, with his freshly coloured topaz eyes smouldering. "How many people, in your position would be able to trick a mind reader into thinking they were a human, _not a vampire_? How many people would be able to keep it going, even when they could put their hands up and just tell me? How many people would even _bother_ to for that for me? They'd be sick of it by the first day, but you," he swam closer to me. "You bothered, you didn't get sick of it, and you didn't get sick of _me_. After everything I told you, about my rebellious stage, you didn't hate me for the monster I truly am."

"All I see Edward, is a very, very good person. Yes, you are a vampire and you could have continued on that streak but the fact that you saw it was wrong, that you knew what you were doing was inhumane and that in itself proves you're not a monster."

"I don't you how you do it Bella. You see the good in people that they never knew was there. You're perfect in every aspect and I don't deserve to be around you."

"I'm not perfect. Not in the slightest; I trip sporadically, attract all sorts of danger, and I'm hardly pretty," I turned my head away, blushing because I hadn't meant that last part to slip out. I started to swim away but Edward pulled me back. I was pressed against his chest and could feel his muscles through his shirt as my hands fell onto his shoulders.

"You are. Tripping is human, danger is human and well, you're right about the pretty thing." I was sure he could see the hurt on my face. "Your not pretty, your beautiful. Your blush is beautiful, your eyes are beautiful, the way you smell is beautiful, the way you twirl your hair is beautiful, the way you rest your head on your hand when you're thinking is beautiful, the way you bite your lip when you're nervous is beautiful, the way you look over your shoulder is beautiful… I can't go on without you knowing Bella, I'm in love with you."

I had literary frozen in his arms, searching his eyes to see if it was the truth. His eyes held hope, love and fear of rejection. I must have looked like I had been stunned by a taser. "Say something," he said, through a clenched jaw.

"No," I said simply. "Because no matter how hard I try to tell you, you'll never understand how happy you've just made me."

Slowly and very softly, out lips touched, like we were testing each other, afraid we'd break but that didn't last for long. Our mouths were moving together, as were our tongues I seemed to crave him like a drug and I'm sure he felt the same. We were both trying to frantically crush ourselves closer to one another, and our hands were hardly controlled, sending shivers up and down my body. I felt like nothing could stop –

We were both submerged by the water and came up gasping again. In our, um, passion, we had forgotten to keep treading and had started to sink.

"I love you too, Edward," I said after regaining my breath from the kiss and the shock of the water. "I have for some time now." I kissed his lips again, a soft smile forming underneath them and then realised something.

I was wearing a white shirt that was now totally see-through.

* * *

AN: I would call that a cliff hanger, would you?  
_Next chapter:_ Edward, coming into contact with a bra?! Dear Lord! (I jest... possibly ;D We'll see how it goes)  
Something had to stop the kiss didn't it? Besides, that's what happens when you stop swimming, you sink... and then you die and float again. I've never understood that. Stupid floating bodies...

I've been neglecting Charlie, you know (;D). I feel really bad because he is a good father, he just doesn't star in these chapters _yet_... Yet being a very key word.

I'm actually rather grumpy because Simplify Media (free programme for sharing iTunes and Winamp libraries. Highly praised and a brilliant piece of software if I do say so myself) hates me with a passion (it's still really good though =P). So much so that when I try and make it show more music, it comes back saying I only have around 600 songs. To some of you this may seem like a lot but it's a low blow for me. My normal library has over 8000 songs and I still need to sort it out. So, at the moment, I am not a happy bunny (excuse the pun).

Although, it did snow today. It's March (nearly April) and it's snowing in London. Wow maybe?

Emma

PS: It's called **We Looked Like Giants** by **Death Cab for Cutie.**


	10. Underneath The Covers

**It's rather short for my usual stuff but very fluffy. But the next chapter is more fun – though I'm not sure that's the right word, maybe, more suspenseful would work. There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter but it's rather…epic, for Eddums anyway.  
We're onto the ****finals**** in my poll (**_**which story should I write next?**_**), ****so go vote! **

**Anyhoo, on with the fluff!**

* * *

_Sleeping is giving in,  
No matter what the time is.  
Sleeping is giving in,  
So lift those heavy eyelids._

_Come on hide your lovers  
Underneath the covers,  
Come on hide your lovers  
Underneath the covers._

* * *

I started bashing my head on his shoulder, repeatedly, for being so stupid.

True, I didn't plan to fall into water, nor bring Edward down with me – not that it wasn't a pleasant surprise – but I was still really stupid. And anyway, in a town that rained almost none stop, I should have had more sense than to even _own_ a white top. Curse my brain and its denseness.

"Bella, Bella," he took my face in his hands, making me stop. The golden intensity made my head clouded for a moment. I blinked. "What are you doing?"

I sighed noisily. "Look at me, Edward. Look at my top."

He frowned, a playful smile on his lips. "It's wet – like mine." I swam backwards, an expression on my face that said 'haven't you noticed yet'. I touched the rocks again and I stood. "Oh," he said, and I noticed that his eyes weren't always on my face. My face flushed a little. He swam over to me, joining me on the shore, the playful smile back on his lips and pulled himself out of the water. I watched as the droplets poured off his skin and clothes, sticking his button up shirt to his chest. And oh my, did he have a chest. The muscles I'd felt before were clear through the thin fabric he was wearing. "Come on, we'll get dry by running," he said softly.

And we did. I got exactly the same ecstatic feeling but it seemed to be intensified by Edward glancing at me. Human feelings were nothing compared to this. I ended up following him, afraid of getting lost in the green jungle and he grabbed my hand. The static we had felt yesterday coursed up and down our arms. My bra was still slightly wet when we arrived where everyone else was and as we came into view, I could see Alice raise an eyebrow.

"It's about time," Jasper said, referring to our emotions.

Alice glanced at him, smirked and walked over to Edward, clearing her features. "What took you so long?! I don't think French gibberish because I enjoy it Edward!"

"Really, I hadn't noticed?" he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. Jasper glared at him. She turned to me, a sparkle in her eye.

"Very well done, falling into the water like that. I applaud you, Bella, I really do."

"It wasn't planned," I said with a sigh. "You know how often I trip."

"As much as this interests us all, we'd like to be included in the conversation, no matter how peculiar it is," Emmett grinned at us as Rosalie spoke.

"I think Bella should get bonus-bonus points," he stated.

"I didn't know I was playing…"

"I think you started playing the minute you set foot in the house," Esme pointed out with a warm teasing smile.

"We're done so we're going to head back to home," Carlisle said. "The rest of you are welcome to come with us but we're taking the car so you'll have to run." He and Esme left, followed by the rest of the Cullen clan. I frowned.

"I didn't know we were that bad."

Edward chuckled lightly beside me. "We're not, at least you're not."

I turned to face him. "Stop bringing yourself down," I hugged him, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his chest. I was too short to get to his shoulder but I felt like I was made to fit in his arms. Trees rustled around us as the wind blew past, lightly running over our skin and we were silent for a very long time. "This is nice," I mumbled.

"Yes, you're warm too," I heard him inhale. "And you scent is incredible."

"You don't smell so bad either," I smiled.

We stood like that for what felt like minutes but in reality, must have been an hour. I didn't want to let go of him, ever.

But I had to think of what this would mean for my life. Now I had found Edward I knew I wanted to be by his side for as long as he wanted me – that would hopefully be the rest of forever. I needed to think about Charlie. I didn't want to leave him on his own, nor did I want to leave Edward and I knew I'd have to pick between one or the other.

"What has you frowning so intensely?" Edward asked when we'd pulled away. He had a playful, yet curious smile, glancing at me as we started to walk.

"My thoughts…"

"So I gathered. Can I hear them?"

"You want to hear my thoughts?" I said teasing, knowing full well how much this would annoy him.

"Yes," he said, half irritated.

"I don't think they'll surprise you much."

"Oh?"

"Well, it's quite simple really." I squeezed his hand. "_You._"

He grinned my favourite crooked smile and squeezed back. "Next time I want it a little more specific."

"Next time," I scoffed, a stupid grin on my face.

In all my life, I had never been this happy. I was elated on Edward's very presence and the fact he felt the same way was just…indescribable. Sorry if you were expecting some sort of paragraph highlighting the finer points of him but you couldn't put him into words. Just like love. You read about it, see it played in films, and as a consequence that you think you know the feeling do well you might explode with it. You could write a thesis on it and still not understand its true meaning without actually feeling it. Just thinking his name would make me nervous and if I took a fleeting glance at him, it would be the same look on his face as mine. Except of course, he was a lot cooler and calmer when it came to not showing his heart. It made me feel special to know that I was the one to unlock it. I told him that.

"It doesn't surprise me, Bella. You're amazing, beautiful, intelligent, _mysterious_," he joked. "I'm so incredibly happy you tricked me and that I got you out of it," he squeezed my hand again.

"It's good to know you don't hate the woman you love," I teased once more. He pulled me in front of him and kissed my head.

"Silly Bella," I could hear it becoming my new pet name. Then, he said abruptly "Let's race," with excited eyes. I blanched, not completely sure why the idea scared me. Possibly the fact that I was worried that I would trip, embarrass myself. "Don't look so scared. You've done it before, haven't you?"

"Yes, but I still expect to fall on a rogue root at some point."

"You won't fall Bella, and even if you do I won't let you." It was a strangely romantic sentence and it made me feel gooey inside.

"Okay. Yep. Race," I blinked, still not feeling one hundred percent confident that I was going to win. He brought our hands up to his mouth and gave them another chaste kiss. Then he let them drop and leant down by my ear.

"I'll go easy on you if you want," Edward whispered, unintentionally seductive with the double meaning. I blushed so hard I wouldn't be surprised if he could feel the heat from my cheeks from the few centimetres he was away from me.

When I regained consciousness from my slight fantasy of where else those words could have taken place, I stepped backwards and winked, secretly wondering where my boldness was coming from. "No chance. I'm going to win this." I sprinted away.

"Cheat!" he called from behind me.

I could hear him catching up so I sped up, my eyes flashing in all directions, trying to take in the objects that I would have to hurdle over. This was like an obstacle course. I was just waiting for a tall brick wall to jump over and a khaki coloured tunnel to crawl through. Although, we were practically silent as we ran, I seemed to be the only one breathing because I didn't know how long I could really go without it. Think about it. A vampire that has human qualities would need to have some intake of oxygen, right? My light breathing and the irregular sound of one of us snapping a twig were the only sounds in the deep forest. Never the less, it felt noisy in a silent sort of way. The few times we'd over take each other, there would be humour in both our eyes as one of us tried to take the lead again.

At some point or another, I must have been running faster than ever before. I could feel my legs straining to push me forward but in a good way. The experience of using my muscles to their full extent was incredible and I was sure I was on an adrenaline high. The greens were blurring completely now and only the centre of my vision was clear, therefore my eyes were darting faster than ever.

"Bella," Edward yelled from behind me. "Slow down!"

The sound of his voice took me totally by surprise and I spun my head around, bringing my body with me. My heel caught on something and I fell backwards, rolling over and over down a rather steep hill and the pencil rolls weren't the worst of it. My left arm caught on a vine and my whole mass was jerked to upwards. A loud crack sounded and my side hit something hard. I shut my eyes, falling into the pain screaming from my bones, clinging to the climbing plant with my good hand. Silent footfalls came into my hearing and I heard a gasp.

Cool hands grasped mine and gingerly pulled me up. Edward stood before me concern clouding his eyes. "What happened? Are you okay? Did you break anything? I heard something snap but I didn't know if that was a stick or a twig or –"

"Calm down Edward, my arm hurts and I think I hit my ribs but other than that I'm fine."

Then he frowned profusely. "I'm sorry, I –"

"Wait, you're trying to apologise for something I did?" He didn't deny it so I went on. "No, I can't have that. Let's get back to civilisation and get me checked out, alright?" He nodded meekly and we walked up to the top of the hill. I held my arm across my chest, like I knew to do from the numerous other times from my human life. There was silence for quite some time and Edward's eyes grazed the floor. "Edward, it's not your fault. I trip all the time."

He looked up at me, pain clear in his face. "I know," he gave a weak smile. "But if I hadn't suggested the race you wouldn't be in pain." I was about to protest but he cut me off. "And don't say you're not because I know you are. I know you more than I know myself. It _is_ my fault and if that doesn't prove it then my calling you while you were running should have."

"I trip, you're not guilty of anything and I forgive you for whatever you think you've done. Oh, I love you," he turned to me with a dazzling grin, obviously affected in the same way when he told me. It seemed to cheer him up as well.

He pulled me into a hug, careful not to touch my arm, which turned out to be quite awkward. "I love you too, more than anything." See, there you go. I could feel my cheeks hurting with the smile but mine probably looked demented, not dazzling.

"Let's go."

"You have an incomplete spiral fracture which means you've twisted at least one part of the bone and some of it's partially still joined. Two bruised ribs on your right to accompany that and you may experience whip lash in a few hours. You'll need a cast for your arm." Edward watched from behind Carlisle as he gave his verdict on me. I saw him occasionally wince as he read Carlisle's mind which meant it I knew from the start that it wasn't good.

We had tumbled – if possible – through the front door and Alice very nearly jumped on me, only to stop herself a few inches away. She looked up at Edward first, glaring at him, then to me, pouting, mumbling about how this would cut shopping back. She congratulated us and turned around to find Jasper, muttering about changing rooms, suddenly halting and giggling. We both looked at each other wondering what that was about – I was sure Edward got the nastiest bit with her thoughts. However, despite her… oddness, I could definitely see Alice and I becoming good friends.

After Alice's dramatic greeting, we were met by Esme and were both pulled into a three way hug, saying how happy she was for us but still careful not to touch my arm. Alice must have filled everyone in on my… accident. Esme was so motherly I felt that the mourning ache I tried to keep silent could be covered by her thoughtfulness and caring ways. She could never replace Renée but I realised that I was missing a mother figure head in my life. She left us but not after pulling me into another hug, whispering "Edward was alone for so long, I'm glad he's finally found someone." Edward watched our exchange and we knew full well that he had heard it. He had a small smile on his face but insisted that we saw Carlisle. He seemed rather shocked still when I came in, despite him already knowing.

Carlisle gave me a thoughtful look. "It will be interesting to see how fast you heal Bella. I didn't think you'd be able to hurt yourself, let alone break a bone but you've proved me wrong once more."

I sighed heavily, looking at my arm and how my palm faced outwards and my thumb down **(if you'd like to try this please do. Take your left arm, hold it up, and turn it to the left so your thumb points towards the floor by using your other hand and tilting your body to the side it starts to hurt if you don't. Now you know what Bella's arm looks like except that's it normally!)**. Bones weren't meant to bend that way and it was rather shocking to see it on me.

"I would say take some Tylenol for the pain but I don't think it would help. You just have to be careful not to move both your arms too much."

"Both?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid. Because you bruised your right ribs it will probably hurt to stretch, though you shouldn't be like that for long."

"Oh."

About half an hour later, I was staring at the large plaster of Paris bulk attached to me in disgust. Granted, it felt marginally better for the attention and the wrapping process had to be the easiest one I'd ever gone through however I was a little distracted by the pain emanating from the bone. Carlisle had finished five minutes ago and I was sitting on Edward's leather sofa, wondering why I was cursed with falling.

"How are you feeling?" Edward enquired while walking in and sitting next to me. I put my arm back into the sling.

"The pain's a little nagging but I'll live."

"What were you thinking about before I walked in?"

"Just the lump," I held it up, bringing the sling with it.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"Stop it, you're always apologising for something that isn't your fault," I took a breath. "I was the one that was running too fast, I was the one who didn't slow down, I'm the one who trips daily, I'm the one who broke her arm, I'm the one who shouldn't even be able to break her arm, I'm the one who's not even a normal vampire…" I trailed off, becoming aware of the moisture in my eyes.

"Bella," he exhaled, pulling onto his lap and into a hug. "I'm sorry I made you cry…" He looked into my eyes. "It's just, you don't seem to see yourself the way I see you. I see you as an angel who has had the misfortune to come across horrible beings at pivotal point in her life. You're beautiful and I'm sorry our kind exists but anytime I think that, I take it back because I never would have met you. Each time I smell your scent I have to resist the urge to lift you up and kiss you, no matter who is around us. You're the warmest thing I've ever felt in my entire life as a vampire and I wouldn't trade you for the world, Bella. You trip because someone is meant to catch you and as long as you want me, I'll do it. Angels should always have someone to catch them and I didn't catch you that time which is why I keep apologising. To top that off, I love you so much I feel like I'm going to burst." Tears were streaming down my face but with happiness. I pulled him close to me, refusing to have any space between us and needing to feel his strong arms around me.

"You really know how to make a girl swoon," I whispered in his ear when my tears had calmed down.

"It's only the truth," he whispered softly back in the musical voice I had come to know so well.

"I don't know if I can put into words like you did, but I love you. Almost so much it hurts." I took his head in my hands and gave him a passionate kiss, revelling in the way his lips felt and tasted against mine.

"We should get you back," he said after we had sat for a few hours talking and laughing amongst ourselves. I nodded, sad to have to part from him.

"I left my truck by –"

"By Ruby Beach. Alice has already dropped it back at your house and Charlie isn't back yet but he will be soon so we need to go," he seemed just as sad. We chatted some more in his car, trying to make the most of the time we had left. I had to remind him to watch the road once or twice and he only replied with a small grin. Edward pulled up opposite the house and I couldn't see the cruiser parked. "Alice…" he paused to check. "Alice says he's a little caught up at the station and is trying to leave but knows it won't be so bad because he talked to you this morning."

"Okay," I opened the door and got out but I didn't see him following me. I stuck my head back in. "Aren't you coming in?" This caused that crooked grin to form on his face, making me grin back. He jogged up to the door while I fetched my bag from the back. He held the door for me as I walked in and I shot him a sly look.

"What?" he asked with an adorable confused look.

"How did you open it?"

"The key under the eave."

"So that's how you got in," I smirked. We were in the kitchen, sitting down when I asked "Why were you, by the way?"

"What? Why did I come here?" I nodded. "Remember when I tried to speak to you?"

"The day Mike asked me to the dance."

"I was surprised, shocked in fact, by the amount of resentment and bitterness I felt towards him after what he asked you. It took me a while to understand what I was feeling but I worked out it was jealousy. I had never felt the want to kill someone in over forty years, if you exclude your first day," he said with witty smile. "I had to see if you'd give the same reaction to the others but I couldn't help but let my mind wander when I thought about what you'd say if I'd asked you. Would you say yes? Would you do the safe thing and say no? What would I do if you said yes? What would I do if you said no? I battled with my conscience all day, pointing out what was ethical and what was right. So, I came here, wondering if by having the human I was so infatuated with before me would help my resolve. It didn't really. You started saying my name, so clear I thought you were awake. Which reminds me, what did you say my name?"

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that." There was a very playful, curious smile on his lips.

"When I heard doors opening I knew someone was in the house but I knew it wasn't Charlie because he'd already gone to bed. So, it had to be a burglar or someone like that. I got even more paranoid when you stopped outside my door and was ready to come at you with whatever sharp object I could find until I smelt you. I was trying to name it because I knew it was you, and I said it out loud. I didn't realise until the second time, when you were kneeling down beside me." By this time, I had probably created a new shade of red.

"And then you scared the living daylights out of me," he stroked my cheek where my blush was.

"And jumped on you," I added proudly.

"Yes," his eyes narrowed at me but suddenly his head flicked to the right as if he were listening to something. "Charlie's two streets away. I need to go…" he mumbled something else under his breath and dashed out of the kitchen.

"Edward!" There was a ghostly laugh and then silence.

I exhaled loudly, my gaze resting on my cast. That would not go down well with Charlie even if I could come up with the excuse that I tripped. I was thinking on my feet here, grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and scribbled down a note saying I wasn't feeling too well and had just gone to bed to sleep it off. That would cover me for tonight. I sprinted up the stars, breaking into vampire speed briefly and came to a stand still. Edward was examining my bookshelf, holding my tattered copies of _Pride & Prejudice_ and _Wuthering Heights_ and was concentrating on another title.

"I thought you were gone?"

He swung his head towards me. "No, I said I needed to go and move my car. There's a difference. I can go if you want…" he frowned.

"No! No, stay!" I said, a little loud and then I thought about something…

"Aren't you hungry?"

"No, I haven't been for a while. I don't think I _need_ to eat but before, I had just fallen into the pattern to seem normal. It's not necessary to my survival," I smirked.

"Can I have a human moment?"

"Go ahead," he smiled.

I grabbed my pyjamas and made for the bathroom. I flicked the switch for the light and turned the shower on, sending a shrill pattering noise around the small room. I pulled my t-shirt off from the bottom of it but got stuck halfway. _Oww! _Carlisle wasn't joking when he said not to move my arms much. This would be a problem. I could probably get my t-shirt out of the way but my bra would be a different occasion all together. I wasn't about to ask Charlie to help me so the only option was… Edward.

"Um," my voice shook as I called him. It was only just loud enough for him to hear. "Edward, could you come here?"

It sounded like he had always been outside the door but I knew he was just moving fast. "Is everything alright?"

"Err, no, I need, um, help."

There was silence for a while. "Help?"

"Yeah," my face was flushed in the mirror and I slowly saw the door open, but stop quickly.

"Is it safe to come in?"

"Mmm," I said, speculating whether I could melt into the floor before he got to me. Edward saw me, with my top halfway up torso, so my stomach was bare and my cast awkwardly positioned that copied my right arm, held up in the air.

He was obviously taken aback with my…attire. "What do you need help with?" He asked, but I think we both knew what I meant.

My voice became a whisper. "My top and my bra…"

He walked over to me, making eye contact with me and I could see the nervousness in their golden depths. He stood behind me and took the bottom of the shirt and lifted it over my head, eyes never leaving my face. Always the gentleman. My bra was grey lace, not my favourite but at least it wasn't ugly. I held my arms in font of my breasts as he undid the clasp. His hand shook but the tingle that was sent up my spine when he touched my bare back was astounding.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"You're welcome," he replied back, closing the door quietly behind him.

Trying to forget the incredibly awkward moment I had just had with Edward, I scrubbed my hair with my strawberry shampoo – which is quite hard when using one arm –, taking time to let the water pour hard down onto my back to relieve the tension. Although this day had to be the most anxious and relieving day of my life – I still needed it – and just then put the cherry on top. When I was out, I blew my hair dry and got changed into my pyjamas, which I found quite easy because it was a tank top I could just pull up my body. I grabbed my clothes, threw them in the laundry pile and made my way back to my room.

Edward was sitting on my bed, his expression unreadable and eyes down gazing at the floorboards. He glanced up as I entered. We both had the same expression; nervous smiles. I sat down next to him and stared at a knot in the wood. "Thank you."

"I told you, you're welcome," he said softly.

"No, I mean for being a gentleman and for not…peeking."

"Bella, I was brought up to respect women. There's no reason why those rules shouldn't still apply now."

"I know, but many wouldn't have done the same in your situation." We lapsed into a comfortable silence, staring down at the same knot as before.

"Lie down!" he whispered suddenly.

"What?" I asked, bewildered.

"Lie down, Charlie's coming to check on you."

I pulled myself under the covers, hiding my cast as discretely as possible and relaxed my breathing like I would as a human. The door clicked open and I could hear Charlie's heart as he watched me 'sleep'. Another click but I didn't want to test my chances so I kept still instead of swinging my head up in search for Edward. Suddenly, his cool breath was at my ear and his arm on my waist.

"You're a good actress, it's no wonder I fell for your sleep charade."

"Did he?"

"Yes, and he didn't notice the cast either. Are you okay? You're lying on your ribs."

"I'm fine," I leant back into his chest, feeling his lungs inflate and deflate.

"You're so warm, Bella. It's heavenly," I didn't have to look at him to know his eyes were shut.

"'Night Edward, I love you," I sighed, knowing full well neither of us could sleep.

He kissed my hair. "I love you," my heart soared. "Goodnight, Bella."

* * *

So, lemonade anyone? I don't do full out lemons but this will be as steamy as it gets (hence the lemonade joke). We all enjoy lemons from time to time but this is rated T for a reason. (Lemonade equals T)

Big thanks to _Jake's fate _who pushed me to finished it, even if she didn't know. Hehe.

Oh, and forgive me but I'm going to rant. This happened two days after I posted the last chapter and is not friggin' funny.

I'm waiting, halfway between an ICT Suite and the real Textiles classroom, not sure where we're meant to be. We (being I and my friends) are waiting beside an art classroom, at a door that hardly ever opens, only when the teacher, Mr Di Petta opens it to get out. We start talking. The conversation gets onto something Tim, my idiot of friend, has been doing for a while. He's not depressed or anything like that, maybe at the most plain immature. He found out that a while back (and please don't do it because I couldn't stand if _I_ was the one who made another accident happen) if you hold your breath for 20 seconds and then hyperventilate for another 20 you can faint. He hadn't fainted once before and said he enjoyed (don't ask me why, I don't know) the dizzy feeling he'd get. My other friend heads off into the ICT suite leaving only a few other of my classmates, Tim and I there.

Low and behold, he does the Fainting Magic. Low and behold once more, that door that never opens, opens and Mr Di Petta steps out. Tim slumps against the wall and falls left towards the Art Room door. His shoulder pushes against the door along the way down, causing it to open and _his head_ hits the frame as his body is rocketed with spasms. He doesn't actually faint and gets help standing up. Sir bluntly points out he's bleeding and he seems shocked that he is - I am too, to be honest. Someone takes him off to medical where they probably sent him to hospital and by the look at the speed of the blood rolling down his neck, he needs to get there quickly. (I'm not a Bella, I'm fine with blood and actually contemplated becoming a Forensic Scientist once).

He was fine by lunch after making a trip to Accident and Emergency and wanted to come in for our fifth period lesson, Drama, where we were doing a Big Brother Roll Play (yay?) but I didn't hear anything from him 'till around five. I was worried sick and, I swear, if he ever does it again, I'll rip his lungs out so there's no chance of him fainting ever again… Or doing anything ever again for that matter.

In other news, I've been stealing soundtracks (like _The Day After Tomorrow _and _Titanic_) from YouTube with a website that converts links to mp3 files. IT'S THE BEST THING SINCE EDWARD ANTHONY MASEN CULLEN!! (Ask me about it in a review)

Oh, yeah… _**VOTE!**_

Emma

**Rebellion (Lies)** by **The Arcade Fire**


	11. We're On Top

_In the back, uh huh, I can't crack,  
We're on top,  
It's just a shimmy and a shake, uh huh,  
I can't fake, we're on top,  
We're on top…_

* * *

The week had flown past me like a brick being thrown at someone's face. I only realised how fast it had gone on Friday and I realised I had to wake up to the real world, figuratively seeing as I couldn't sleep. Edward had stayed with me every night since the day of my first hunt and switched his timetable to match mine. I didn't really have a problem with it, I loved spending time with Edward almost as much as I loved him but I'm not sure I wanted him seeing me in gym. He seemed to defend me most of the time so I wasn't about to complain. I had been hunting every other night, meeting up with Jasper once or twice and had got to know him and his story. Also, after my hunts, we would meet back at the Cullens and I could get to know everyone else. Each had a highly depressing story but so was mine.

Charlie never found out about my cast because I ripped it off the morning after. The plaster had crumbled to the floor, creating a pleasant sound as it hit. Edward just watched with one eye raised and then checked my arm. How I knew to rip it off, I'm not completely sure. My arm and ribs had stopped hurting half way through the night and my cast was making me itch so I tried to scratch the skin underneath. I was a little too vigorous and ended up ripping a chunk off. It was fine in the end. Carlisle's (and Edward's to be honest) was that I healed at the pace of a vampire even if the injury was human. Another part of that theory was that no other human could give me human injuries, so it was I and the rest of the vampire world left to attack me. Quite truthfully, that narrowed down quite a lot of people. There weren't too many vampires in the world compared to humans… I was only the real problem.

"Bella," a soft voice called to me.

"Hmm?" I broke out of my daydream.

"I know waiting for work is boring but I didn't know I was," he laughed. I blushed.

"Sorry. I just think this lesson is going to get immensely boring. Not you." It wasn't anything to do with the fact I thought he was boring, because I didn't … I just couldn't be bothered much with school when we had all this time together. I craved his company like a drug but I knew I couldn't let Charlie down. He wouldn't want me failing in any of my classes and Edward wouldn't either. Therefore, I was stuck in a Biology lesson with strange humans trying to get last minute gossip around before the lesson started. I felt Edward's intense gaze on me so I turned to him with a small smile.

"Can I help you?"

"Not really, just stay like that."

I frowned. "Why?" He didn't answer but had a glazed over look about his eyes. "Edward, why?" Suddenly, he blinked several times, as if his eyes were adjusting to a harsh light after being in the dark. "What were you doing?"

"Committing you to memory," he smiled crookedly.

"I repeat, why?"

"Because I doubt I'll see you bored in a Biology class, resting your head in your hand, big brown eyes looking so adorably confused it should be illegal, hair flowing out behind you in a way that makes me want to run my fingers through it, lips that look utterly kissable…" all this time he had been leaning closer to me, golden eyes burning into mine. He leant back quickly. "Ever again."

"Tease," I huffed, too fast for human ears. He chuckled.

Mr. Banner backed his way into the room, dragging a television and what looked like a cross between a VCR and a DVD player. I mouthed an 'I win' at Edward, proving that I'd get bored in this period. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, recognising the feeling of being beaten but I got the feeling there would be a rematch at some point. How could I not be bored? Complete silence when I could have been spending an amazing day with the love of my life. "Right, we're watching a video on the stages of mitosis seeing as most of you didn't seem to understand it last week. The only two people who seemed to get it were Edward and Bella," I blushed under the sudden attention and Edward was watching me again. "Complete the two work sheets for homework or in the lesson." The sheets were passed around and suddenly the lights went out.

As the darkness engulfed us all, I was completely aware about how close Edward was sitting to me. It was like on the way to the hospital but _so much stronger!_ I had the craziest impulse to touch him – which given the circumstances wasn't so crazy – but it shocked me that I could be any more aware of him than I already was. I could see him glancing at me. Slowly, very slowly, I dropped my hand in the small space between us, palm facing him. Our fingers laced together and if anything, the connection grew stronger. I gasped quietly and felt him lean over to me, trying to get as close as possible that was publicly allowed in a classroom.

The rest of the lesson was spent trying to restrain ourselves from getting any closer and involved clenched hands and jaws, rigid postures and sly glances at one another. It was as if we were trying to control attacking a human – or in my case, an animal. Each time I saw the smouldering orbs my mind clouded. It seemed physically impossible about how much control this man had over me but I was reassured when I saw he was in the same situation. When the lights flickered on, neither of us spoke for a while.

"Um…"

"Shall we?" he asked. I simply nodded.

Another thing about this week was that I had sat with the Cullens at lunch, much to Mike's displeasure. I snacked on their food if I wanted and we talked about anything and everything. Edward's comments on what humans were thinking, how Emmett and Alice were responsible for the graffiti, how Carlisle punished them for bringing the town into the house war, how Esme threw a water balloon at Carlisle for not loosening up. Actually, I was there for that and the expression on his face was priceless! It made sense though, even if they were a little older than us, they could still have fun. Carlisle was really only twenty three and Esme, twenty six. They were still entitled to fun and Jasper, Edward and even I could tell; however _fun_ being in charge of the house was, they needed a break. The water balloon kind of fun.

Edward and I had been getting closer each day but we had never had such a strong course of electricity as in that lesson. I could tell it left both of us a little disconcerted, not that I was complaining though. The feeling was exhilarating and I didn't want it to stop; if anything I wanted it to get stronger. Our fingers were entwined keeping the connection strong at we walked towards gym, making a few people stop and stare; something I had learnt to ignore. Before I came to the school, Edward was renowned for being single, completely ignoring the attempts from girls throwing themselves at him. Then I came along, he said, and changed everything.

Gym was embarrassing to say the least. We were playing basketball. I tripped at least seven times and out of those seven, fell on Edward three, bringing him down with me once. By the end of the lesson I was blushing like hell and he was chuckling to himself, finding it strange to fall like a human… or me. I was getting death glares from bold enough girls as we walked towards the Volvo, envious that Edward was with me. I couldn't really understand it myself but the sweet nothings he mumbled into my ear made me realise to savour every moment before he came to his senses.

"Recovered from Gym?" Edward asked, once we were both in his car. I shot him a playful glare.

"It's not my fault I fall so much."

"No, but it was interesting to meet the ground again. We haven't spoken in so long!" he joked and I slapped his arm. The rest of the ride was like that, teasing each other about things, my usual come back being how he couldn't tell a human from a vampire which he pouted at (normally making me lean forward and kiss it away). Every time we pulled up to the Cullen house I was still shocked by its elegance. Once out of the car, Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and we walked into the amazing house together. Rosalie and Emmett were watching the TV together, Esme was cleaning, Jasper was in his office, Carlisle was still at work and Alice…

"BELLA!" She almost knocked me to the ground when she jumped.

"Alice?" I exhaled, feeling slightly winded from where she jumped. My poor stomach. She didn't seem to realise that I still used it.

"C'mon!" she took my hand and started dragging my up the stairs. I looked back at Edward with a pleading look but he just smirked.

It didn't seem like I'd see much of him.

* * *

When Alice put her mind to it, she could distract herself from the lure of makeovers and give good advice. She was sensible when you needed her to be and playful when you didn't. However, she wasn't today. It seemed to be a Bella fashion show from the minute we got into the house, something I wasn't too pleased about. Edward had come into check on me once or twice, as if my screams from mascara inflicted torture weren't enough incentive for him to rescue me. Each time he'd warn Alice to go easy on me, which clearly didn't happen as the minute the door closed behind him the eye liner out be being sharpened. Jasper ended up saving me by walking in, picking Alice up and giving her a humongous kiss, probably sensing the distress I was feeling. She was distracted so I carefully slid out of the room to find Edward. I could hear the delicate sounds of the piano coming from the hall. Of course, he had been drowning out my screeches for help with music. Lovely.

"Edward," I growled from the corner of the room.

"Bella," he said pleasantly and tilted his head to the side. "Come sit with me." My eyes narrowed as I walked to sit on the bench but widened as I noticed no sheets. His hands moved without fault as he watched me, playing a simple tune.

"Did you learn the songs?" He nodded as I questioned him. "You don't need the sheets at all?" He nodded. "You do?"

"I only need the sheets to some pieces," he blinked slowly.

"And others?"

"I know by heart."

"Why only some?"

"Guess."

"What?"

"Guess why."

It seemed that playing the piano made him relax far too much. I didn't like having such short answers and I could see him half watching the notes and myself at the same time, checking if I was irritated – which I was – and he smirked, evidently pleased with the reaction. He kept playing the soft music as I thought.

"Well…" I began

"Yes?"

"You wrote them?"

He raised his eye brows, surprised I got it right. "Correct."

"Woo. One gold star for Bella," I said sarcastically. He grinned. "But really, you write songs?" He nodded once and I scowled. "I like you playing the piano but if I keep getting short words and nods I think I'm going to have to go home."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I'll stop. I just wanted to see what you'd do."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Edward."

"That's good. I've never liked cats too much."

"Edward…" I sighed, exasperated, grinning like an idiot.

I leant my head on his shoulder, feeling it rock tenderly as he moved his fingers, sending silent tremors up his arm. I shut my eyes and got lost in the music. The songs changed from dramatic to calm and at one point Esme called out a thank you and Edward whispered "Esme's song," but when that came to an end, he transformed it into the tune he'd been humming over the past week. "You inspired this one," was all he said.

And I could hardly speak.

"Me?" I squeaked.

He seemed alarmed by the high pitched noise that came out of me and his head swung around to check if I was okay. My eyes were wide and I could feel the moisture in them threatening to roll over the edge. "Yes, you," he spoke softly. The song came to a slow end and he turned to face me completely, staring deep into my tear clouded eyes, wiping them away. Then I clutched myself to him, wrapping my arms around him and he moved me onto his lap, burying his head in my shoulder so his forehead was pressed into my neck. I held him there for a while longer and tilted his head upwards so I could press my lips to his. It started slow but as the energy we had felt earlier built up, it got a lot more passionate. I found myself trying to pull him closer to me, threading my hands through his smooth hair and messing it up from the normal disarray to utter chaos. His hands trailed up and down my back, sending tingles up and down my spine. I slid my tongue across his bottom lip and his mouth opened. Our tongues battled without rest until a loud noise from upstairs broke us out of our fervour.

"EMMETT, GET OFF ME!" Jasper yelled from upstairs.

We were both close to panting. "Um, Charlie's expecting me back around now."

"Okay." There was silence as we walked to the car, unnerving in a way but completely stupid. We were acting like we were brought up in the 1900s – although, I wouldn't put it past Edward to behave like that even now – caught doing something scandalous and then found out by our chaperone. Edward was shooting me nervous glances when he thought I wasn't looking. There was the same silence in the car. I started giggling halfway through the trip. "What?"

"Look at us. Locked in uneasy tension, like we've offended each other because of something that happens naturally in a relationship. It's stupid."

He laughed, but I could hear the relief. "I was just worried that… we'd over stepped the mark. That would have never been permitted in my day." We had arrived and he pulled up outside my house.

"Yes," I giggled again. "In your day, you old man." I leant over and kissed his cheek. "Love you."

"Love you more."

I raised an eyebrow. "We are not getting into that."

"We might…" He grinned crookedly.

"Goodbye Edward," I called, after shutting the door, refusing to take part in the discussion of who loved who more. He rolled the window down.

"Bye, l–" his head spun around so he was looking straight ahead. "Oh."

I followed his line of vision. "Oh?" It was a car. "What is it?"

"A complication."

"What kind of complication?"

"I'll explain later. Answer all your questions, but right now is not the time to do so," and with that he just sped off, swerving gently around the car. I was left, bewildered.

There were two people in the car, an old man and a young boy. The boy was driving and looking a little giddy to be doing so too. He had long, glossy black hair that was tied at the nape of his neck; I could see clearly through the glass.

"Billy!" Charlie called from behind me and I swung around to face him. Of course, it was Billy Black, Charlie's old friend from La Push. When I used to come down here in the summer, we would always go fishing with him and I'd play with his daughters, Rachel and Rebecca. I didn't recognise the boy though but they looked related. "How you doing? I haven't seen you in ages!"

"I know," he said, once the boy had helped him into his wheelchair. "It's been too long. This must be Bella, then," he said, apprehensiveness his eyes but keeping his tone happy. I wondered why.

"Yep," Charlie wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Bells, you might not remember these two. Billy and his son Jacob Black. He used to own your truck and we went –"

"Fishing each summer. I remember Dad," I smiled up at him.

He smiled back and then frowned. "You're feeling a little cold, Bella. We'll get inside." I suppressed my laugh. "You guys staying for dinner?"

"No, we're just dropping by," Billy said, eying me suspiciously again.

"Oh, and I'll pretend I didn't see you driving Jacob, mmm?" He just grinned in response.

We walked in and I realised that something wasn't right, but I couldn't pin point it. Charlie switched the TV on as Jacob rolled his father through the threshold and I walked into the kitchen, getting ready to prepare an easy meal – something I probably wouldn't eat much of. I really couldn't be bothered with digestion at the moment, unless it was worth eating. I notice Jacob follow me in and I went to get a tin of spaghetti from a cupboard. He stood there looking a little lost.

"Can I help with something?"

"Um, could you grab a pan from the cabinet behind you?" He did and I poured some water on the pasta. About a minute later, the food was beginning to simmer. I was stuck on what to say – what do you say to a boy you should remember from your childhood? We end up leaning against the door frame of the front room, watching the game, or pretending to, talking a little more quietly now, knowing we'd get shushed if we didn't.

"Is there something wrong with the truck? I noticed you weren't driving it when you arrived."

"No, I got a lift from a friend." No need to go into details.

"How do you like it?"

"I love it," I smiled and saw him blink, as if he was dazed. "It runs great."

"Yeah, but it's _really slow_," he laughed."If there's any trouble with the engine, bring it down and I'll take a look."

"It's not _that_ slow," his enthusiasm was hard to ignore and not join in with. "But you worked on it?"

"Yep, my dad wouldn't let me work on another when there was a perfectly good vehicle sitting in our drive. I was so relieved when Charlie bought it."

"Are you working on anything now?"

"Well, I try when I have the time and parts. At the moment, I'm looking for 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit master cylinder. Have you seen any around?"

"No, but I'll keep my eyes peeled." We both laughed, getting a glance from Billy and then decided to walk back into the kitchen. It amazed me that I could get along with someone so well in such a short amount of time. "I don't think your dad likes me too much."

He looked shocked. "What gave you that idea?"

"I don't know. He just seems to eye me like he can't trust me."

"I'm sure that's not it," he shook his head. "No, there must be another reason. He's had no problem with you before."

"Hmm," was all I said.

The Blacks didn't stay for long. They left just before the pasta was done and I felt that I had made a new friend in Jacob. We had got on as if we had known each other our whole lives – which to be honest, we had. My mind was still on what Edward had said. I was itching to ask him what he meant and why he had sped off before Billy got here. There had to be something going on that I didn't know about. _Here's me thinking we were done with all the secrecy_, I said to myself, glumly.

"That was fun, Charlie," Billy said as Jacob pushed him out into the misting air.

"Come up for the next game," he encouraged.

"Sure, sure," he said, something Jacob had picked up from him. "We'll be here." His eyes shifted to mine and there was a knowing glint in them. "You take care, Bella."

"Thanks," I mumbled, not meeting his eyes. Charlie waved from the door, and shut it quietly as I made a dash for the stairs.

"Hold on, Bella. I didn't get a chance to speak to you tonight. How was school?"

"Um, good," I was doing a lot more thinking on my feet than normal today. "I've been making some good friends in the Cullens."

"Good kids," he muttered to himself. "You've been seeing a lot of that – what's his name, Edwin?"

"Edward, Dad."

"Yeah. Why didn't you ask him to the dance this weekend?"

"_Dad_," I squeaked. There was no way my father had just guessed who I was in love with and essentially asked me to see him. I skirted around my infatuation with him. "You know I can't dance."

"Oh yeah." He raised his eyebrows suddenly. "You're doing something on tomorrow, aren't you?"

_Quick, Bella, think!_ "I think Alice wants me to go shopping with her."

"Okay, I was just checking. I made plans with Steve and Adam for fishing. He's just got back from Majorca, you know. The weather's supposed to be really warm. I still feel I'm not seeing enough of you, Bells."

"Dad, you're doing fine. I've never minded being alone – I'm too much like you," I winked at him and he smiled his crinkly-eyed smile. Sprinting didn't seem to be a fast enough word for how fast I went up the stairs. Of course, I didn't let Charlie see but I was quite surprised he didn't notice. It seemed I was quite silent on my feet when I tried to be. Edward wasn't in my room yet so I grabbed my clothes and took a quick shower, scrubbing my hair as fast as vampirely possible. I dried myself quickly, got changed and went to wait in my room.

A hand grabbed me from behind and another went straight to my mouth, smothering my scream. "Relax, Bella," a honey soft voice said and I did. The strong grip on my loosened and I hit the intruded hard. He should know better than to sneak up on me.

"Ouch. You're still a new born, that hurts!"

"Don't scare me like that again!" I glared at him.

"So," he began, golden eyes twinkling in the gloom. "You can't dance."

"You heard that…"

"Yes. Weren't you going to ask me?" he pouted.

"I might have but, seriously, I can't dance."

"I don't think there would be a problem, it's all in the leading," he grinned. I ignored him. We'd talk about that later.

"What were you going to tell me then? Explain."

"That," he sat on my bed and patted the space next to him.I leant into him. "Werewolves."

My eyes went wide. "What?"

He pulled us under the covers and began the long tale of the Quileute legends.

* * *

AN: Don't worry.

This won't turn into a BellaxJacob, no matter how much he'd like it. –Rolls eyes- Bah, silly Jake. He's so innocent in this. Makes me want to give him a bib and spoon feed him mushy banana.

God, I've been so distracted lately. I recently joined the 'His Golden Eyes' forum and keep replying to posts on there. Plus, there's my normal forum that just got revamped (no pun intended :P ) and all the icons are on the right side, instead of left… Very confusing… Still… I hope you're all keeping up the MTV's news. I have to go to YouTube for the videos because they won't play outside of the USA but I keep squealing at them.

You might get at least one update and then not for a while. I have my SATs coming up (not the SATs you're thinking of. Ours are different) and I need to revise, big time. We have them in three weeks.

Those who spotted the Twilight quotes, a round of applause.

Emma

PS: **On Top** by **The Killers** / Love that song!

I haven't proof read, so meh.


	12. The Flames And Smoke

God, I am so sorry I've taken so long to get this up! I've been so busy lately; we've just had really serious tests last week that decide if I get my triple science for my GCSEs – which I want dearly. Although, don't say I didn't warn you. The last chapter's AN did tell you. Still, they're over, you're all awesome for the wait and… Yeah, I'll shut up now.

It's not all fluff and games, you know.

Onwards!

* * *

_The flames and smoke climbed out of every window,  
And disappeared with everything that you held dear,  
But you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need,_  
'_Cause you knew you were finally free._

* * *

"Put me _down_, Edward!" I hit my hands on his back as he walked down the stairs.

"No."

"Why _not_?!"

"Because," he stressed the word. "I don't want to."

"_Please_." He stopped at the last step and put me down. I smiled up at him and he wore that crooked grin.

"Where were you taking me?" His hands went straight back to my waist, picking me up once more. "Edward!" I sighed exasperated.

I had learnt everything about the Quileute Tribe in the space of one night. Edward hadn't left anything out and I was fascinated about the gene that changed the actual make-up of a human into a wolf. It hid itself for the whole of the human's life unless the human came close to vampires and then affected every cell in the body without the human knowing. Once the unidentified cells had finished changing, they would change. Edward had only seen it once before in the thirties but didn't know anything more without actually going into a wolf's mind. The treaty line prevented that even if there was a wolf. None of the Cullens knew. I had asked him whether there were any more secrets I didn't know about and he shook his head, pulled me closer in the horizontal position we were in on my bed, resting his hand directly on my spine. Needless to say, the electricity was stronger than ever before.

He put me down on the kitchen floor– the right way up, I might add – before grinning crookedly. I eyed him carefully before glancing at the rest of the kitchen. Nothing different, except the large bouquet of flowers sitting on the counter. I think I must have squeaked because he laughed.

"Come on," Edward said, when I made no move to pick them up. "They are for you. I don't buy Charlie gifts, you know that." He picked up my hands and pulled me up, walking me over to them. It was wider than the breadbin. Gently, I placed my hands on the side of the vase, leaning in and smelling them. Freesia and lavender. I looked at him, bemused. "I thought it was only right you got to smell your scent." I think I must have blinked before throwing my arms around him and crushing my lips to his. I was well aware I was squishing him but he didn't seem to mind because he knotted his hands in my hair and pulled me closer. We were practically panting by the time I pulled away for unnecessary breath. He chuckled. "If I knew you'd react like that I would have done it earlier." I flushed with embarrassment and sniffed them again. They smelt wonderful.

I hugged him and looked up, wondering which one of the Cullens had smuggled themselves into my home for Edward. "What are we doing today?"

He seemed to be cautious as he spoke, like I would lash out at him. "I was thinking we could go to the house and do an intervention of sorts."

"An intervention?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Carlisle was thinking earlier today – and don't take this personally – but he was thinking that you would be perfect for us to test our control." Edward watched me cautiously.

"And how would that work?"

"He thinks you'd have to concentrate on being more human than vampire and," suddenly he looked sheepish. "We'll see how long we can all spend in the room with you."

"Oh…Kay," I exhaled after thinking it over.

"Okay?" He seemed shocked I would agree to it.

"Yeah, it's the least I can do after everything that's happened."

"Nothing _has_ happened Bella."

"Fine, if you don't count Rosalie attacking me." He blanched.

"_What_?"

The biggest grin appeared on my face at his reaction. Rosalie obviously had tried to hide her thoughts from him – and by the sound of it, had done very well. Of course, I didn't blame her. It was partially my fault and I should have known that someone would find me. Hunting clouded senses and that couldn't be helped.

"On my way to the hunt, she must have smelt me and gone after my scent," I shrugged like it was nothing. It wasn't but Edward was staring, wide eyed. I giggled at the immense change in emotions that this room gave off.

He smiled crookedly, frowning. "What's so funny?"

"Us."

"You have the most bizarre reactions to things, love."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." I leant up and kissed him before pulling away and sitting in one of the wooden chairs. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"Er," that seemed to throw him at least. "I'm not sure." He grinned. "What would you like?"

I smirked. "I'd like to go to the house."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the human - vampire side of you. It was a lot easier when you were pretending to be completely human."

"Really?"

He thought about it. "No," and grinned.

* * *

There wasn't a reason to be so nervous. Carlisle had explained the… _procedure_ at least three times and I knew what I had to do. Regardless, I was. There were two soft, red velvet chairs placed in a box room, next to an end table with a timer on it, one of which I had to sit on it while the others were tested. I felt like a judge, forcing convicts to their breaking point, so they would admit themselves guilty. To some, it would be boring but I was rather looking forward to the reactions, anxiety and uneasiness aside. In the time I was supposed to '_warm up_' or so Edward said, I spent my time studying the details in the door. It was a deep mahogany with a few knots, not that it mattered. I was just stalling. There was a light knock on the door.

"Come in," I called.

Alice's head peaked through and the rest of her body followed. She appeared to be excited and cautious, like she didn't know what to expect – an abnormal thing for her. Timidly she stepped in and stood by the door, wisely not daring to get any closer. We gave each other soft smiles before I tapped the top of the timer and dwelled into my memories.

"_Mommy, where are we going?" _It was the few select memories I had of my early years as a child.

"_Wait and see, Bella!" _I had done my special pout to try and get her to break.

"_Mommy!" _I whined a lot at that age, like every other six year old on the planet.

"_Get in the car, honey." _Even at such a young age I never liked surprises, I was impatient to get to wherever so the shock could be over. The journey was spent mainly just listening to the radio and me trying to guess where we were off to. Once we were outside, my jaw dropped open.

"_The zoo!" _I had squeaked before running up to my mother and wrapping my arms around her legs.

I opened my eyes and Alice's were dark as night, filled with fury. Her jaw was tensed as she pressed herself into the wall; I could hear the plaster breaking under her force. Her lungs had ceased to move and her whole frame was frozen. I glanced at the timer, ticking away. _0:01:06_, it read.

When five minutes had gone by, I found another memory like Carlisle told me to. Each time, it had to be stronger than the last. I had gone through another three before Alice flung the door open to get some 'clean' air. She had lasted sixteen minutes and forty two seconds.

The process was repeated until I had seen Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and Esme – who also asked me if I wanted anything to eat or drink beforehand. I kindly denied. They each lasted from ten to thirty minutes and the only person left was Edward. I had cleared the air from my blood, much like Jasper could send out calm or anger. I knew this would be hard for him, but it would also be good for him too. There was an inch of fear in his eyes but it was mainly dominated by worry – for me, no doubt. What he could possibly be worried about I had no idea… He sat in the chair, golden eyes blaring at me. The rest of the room seemed to disappear and those topaz orbs were the centre of my universe.

"Stop!" I said, quickly looking away.

"What is it? Bella?"

"You're…" I laughed at the idiocy. "You're dazzling me."

"I dazzle you?" he tilted his head.

"Frequently." I tapped the timer once more and fell into my memories.

By the time I opened my eyes, Edward was as far away from me as possible, eyes a deep onyx. It made me realise the complex being we were and how fast our personalities could change. I had only ever seen him like this on the day I first say him and truly knowing what he wanted to do made me want to take his pain away. When the five minutes had past, I delved to find another and I could hear Edward push himself further into a wall as the plaster creaked. I could _see_ him swallowing venom fast and I felt the urge to comfort him, but knowing that would make it worse.

Suddenly I felt myself falling to the ground, Edward on top of me and I pulled myself into complete vampire. We fell hard on our ribs and ended up side by side. His eyes were the same wild onyx for a few seconds and then they dulled to a deep black.

"Edward!" I said franticly. "Edward, look at me." His pupils lifted upwards to focus on me and I gave a sigh of relief. "Can you move?" He nodded faintly and tried to say something but was interrupted.

"Bella? Edward?" Carlisle called from outside. "Is everything alright?"

"No, Edward has, erm, collapsed," I said shakily. The whole family seemed to burst through the door at this point. Carlisle rushed over to see him, asking quickly what happened and doing a visual once over. Jasper had wrapped his arm around Alice and Emmett had his hands on Rosalie's shoulders. Esme was kneeling next to Carlisle, helping as much as possible.

"He's… incredibly weak. We need to get him some blood, fast. Emmett, you pick him up and run to the nearest animal you can find, Alice help him. Bella, you can go with them if you want." I nodded sharply. Edward began to protest as Emmett lifted him up, trying to lift his head up but I threaded a hand through his hair and he calmed instantly.

It was disturbing to see him limp in Emmett's arms and know that I caused him to be that way. When he could, he would _attempt_ a smile at me. Alice and I went to find blood, eventually a large bear and hauled it onto our backs after snapping its neck, balancing out the weight between us – not that it was heavy. Emmett had put Edward down so he was slumped against a bolder and his head leaning over the back. His eyes were closed. If I didn't know any better I would have guessed he was dead. My heart twisted at the thought. We knelt down next on both sides of him and placed the neck at his mouth. I felt horrible then; I had made him so weak he couldn't even move close to drink. I sat down, wrapping my arms around my knees and watched him feed, slowly regaining strength, the colour coming back into his eyes. He was messy, something I wasn't used to seeing after he had always been so careful about hunting. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, pushed the dead carcass off of himself and crawled on his knees to rest on them in front of me. My eyes weren't seeing and I could feel the crease in my forehead.

Gently, as if I were to snap at any moment, he picked up my hands and lifted them to his mouth, kissing them, inhaling. "Talk to me."

"I hurt you," I whispered faintly.

"No."

"Yes."

"No, you didn't. I knew the consequences of what I was doing. The real mystery is why that happened to me, whether it were my fault."

"It was mine."

"No, Bella. It wasn't."

"It was. I… I made myself so… too… too vampire. It would have been better if I had let you try and …find the blood."

"It would have happened anyway, regardless."

"No."

"Bella…" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. I didn't reply but I did notice Emmett and Alice had dispersed, leaving us to talk. I felt bad that they left, I would have had liked to have this talk later, maybe a little while after… Nevertheless I knew it had to happen at some point. Edward scooped me up, one arm catching my legs, the other around my shoulders, so that I was resting my head on his chest. His fingers lightly traced my arm, a delicate motion that forced me to flip my eyes shut and I sighed deeply.

"I love you, Bella," he said, and it was those words that released me from my torment.

"I love you, too." We sat there for some time, just in each other's arms. I wouldn't be able to give you an exact time; I wasn't paying attention. I had forgotten about the rest of the world; there was school, the rest of the Cullens and Charlie waiting for me away from Edward's embrace. In the back of my mind, I knew they were there but I was complete _here_. Suddenly, Edward stood, still holding me in his arms. "What are you doing?"

"There's somewhere I want to show you," he smiled that dazzling crooked grin. I must have looked like an idiot, gazing up at him, mouth parted and utterly weak. If I had been standing, I would have been the dictionary definition of swooned. However, I couldn't help but be worried.

"Is it a good somewhere?"

"Honestly, Bella," he sighed. "Would I take you somewhere bad?"

"No," I mumbled into his chest.

"Don't you want to run?"

I made no move to get out of his cradle. "I like it here a lot more." There was a stupid, soft smile on my face. He returned it, except the tender look worked a lot better on him.

His walking – or running rather – was gentle and relaxing; I found myself closing my eyes. "You look so peaceful, like you're sleeping."

"You're a good pillow," I mumbled. The chuckle rumbled through his chest, vibrating through my head.

Wondering as he ran was an unwinding feeling. Wondering what it would be like in ten years time; would he still carry me like this, me pretending to sleep and he watching down on me? Would we still be together? My dead heart shuddered. I could barely live a minute without knowing I wouldn't be able to see him again and the idea of him not wanting me… I pushed those thoughts away, and moved onto happier things. Accidentally, I had an image of Edward in a dark suit, a bow tie, the works and myself in a long, white (incredibly beautiful) wedding dress by an alter. I registered my shocked look a moment after I noticed I had opened my eyes and Edward looked down on me curiously but said nothing. Of course, the thought that Edward would want me forever was a joyous one, but _marriage?_ I had always shied away from the idea, not wanting to become a carbon-copy of my mother – marry high school sweetheart, have a child, realise you out grew your other half and take said child away from the cramped town, live a hectic life, date a few more men, find one that loves you too and makes you feel younger, remarry, find that your child doesn't want to be involved in the new life you know you're about to have and moves back in with your ex – even if most of that story was impossible with Edward, I had been told to wait for matrimony. My mother had often drilled into my head that I should be at least twenty seven before considering a proposal… But, as much as I wished she could be, she wasn't around and I knew she would want me to be happy… Was that a kind of twisted blessing hidden away?

Unexpectedly, Edward's cell phone rang and he swung me up onto his right arm, the way a weightlifter would show off his muscles – I rolled my eyes at the macho move – so I was using it as a seat. I rested my elbow on his head as he answered the call.

"Alice?" he asked, slightly peeved that she interrupted our trip. But she wouldn't call if it wasn't an emergency, would she?

I could hear her clearly. _"Edward, I need to speak to Bella. Immediately."_

"What's wrong? Has something happened?"

_"Please, Edward, this concerns her. Pass the phone over."_

He handed it up to me, and pulled me down from his arm, leaving a hand entwined with mine. "Alice, what is it?"

_"Oh, Bella. I… I think it might be too late. It's Charlie."_

"Charlie?" I whispered.

* * *

**(I was going to leave it there but then I realised I couldn't.)**

We ran for the most part, and dodging trees were a lot easier when there was a strong purpose to it. Neither Edward nor I spoke after the phone call. He had heard what Alice said and understood my dire need to get back to my home. I was tense, every sound made my head turn and my eyes were peeled for an unknown _thing_ about to spring out at me. Edward's were trained on me, worry apparent in them, although he was doing well to hide it. The house was hardly an age away but I could see the smoke in the sky from here.

"Bella, quickly," Rosalie's voice called out to me. All of the Cullens were waiting outside my house looking incredibly skittish.

My house was on fire, and my father was still inside. The beat of his heart was clear to us amongst the crackling of the flames.

"What are we doing, just standing here?!" I shrieked. "We have to save him!"

"We can't Bella," Edward said softly. "We'd burn, you know that."

"I do know that but I'm not going to let it stop me." I stormed up to the house, the heat getting hotter. Edward jumped in front of me and pulled me into a strong hug.

"Please don't. I can't bear to loose you," the plea in his voice almost broke my heart.

"Let me go, Edward." He did. I walked towards the threshold, turned and mouth 'I love you' to him. The pain in his eyes was almost tangible.

The hall had a glow to it that made me shudder, an orange tint that shone onto the ceiling that made me tremble. I could hear my father's panicking movement from upstairs so I dashed up them, making a careful note of where the largest fires were. The kitchen, the dining room and… my room. Something was pushed up against the door and I had to use my vampire strength to push it aside. It was a dresser but of more importance was the pool of blood on the floor. Charlie's eyes had closed and his wrists were bleeding. I winced and swallowed down some bile that was building up. His body felt so light as I lifted him, and I was afraid that I would break him. I side-stepped down the stairs, trying to keep balance and praying that I wouldn't slip; things would only get worse if I let that happen. The fire had crept in front of the door now and Charlie was stirring. I, myself, was starting to panic. I couldn't get out and the fire was flowing into every room in the house.

"Bella?" Edward's terrified voice called out through the burning heat.

"Edward! I can't get out. There's fire around the door and the kitchen is blocked off. I don't –" There was a loud crash as a supporting beam fell across banisters on the stairs, not three feet away from us.

"Bella?!"

"I'm fine," I coughed. "I just don't think we can get out."

"How is that fine?!" I heard him shout, mainly to himself.

I could only faintly hear now. "Edward, it's not helping her if all you're doing is worrying," Rosalie snapped.

"We need to knock down the wall," Emmett said, rather distantly and I could see him in my mind looking for something. Normally he would just use his shoulder but he would burn.

"The tree, as a battering ram," Jasper said.

"Bella," Carlisle yelled. "How is Charlie doing?"

"He still has a pulse but his wrists are bleeding. He's unconscious too."

"Listen to me very carefully. You need to put pressure on the wound, find some material to block it for the time being. Keep an eye on his pulse."

"Okay," I said back but the end of the word was blocked by the sound the tree being ripped out of the soil. I was very thankful we had no neighbours living close to us. Ripping some cloth from my t-shirt, the wounds were covered and I pressed down with moderate force, knowing too hard could snap a bone or a tendon. The first crash into the wall made me jump and Charlie began to open his eyes, the pain becoming too much. I watched the cracks in the plaster form until they collapsed and oxygen rushed in through the house; causing the fire to grow. Emmett and Carlisle pushed it and ground a hole we could slip through, the trunk covering some of the flames. I stepped outside into the clean air and placed my father down a safe distance away. Edward and Carlisle knelt down beside him at once, checking over his body for injuries, mumbling burns, sniffing every now and then…

With the same amount of shock, they said simultaneously, "Can you smell vampire?" and "These are teeth marks!"

* * *

AN: Which vampires they could be, I wonder…

NEW STORY IDEA! Yayayayayayay!

It is utterly brilliant and I can't wait to write it. The basic story is Edward is a Nazi soldier and Bella is a Jew and both are sent to Auschwitz. You know what that means… Forbidden love in incomprehensible places – and angst, lots of angst. (It's just overtaken GN so that's going to be second… Haha.) -shun- Check part of it out on my LJ (profile), I can hardly wait but I'm going to have to! You guys want updates here and now!

Oh, and guess who has freesia?! ME! Haha, you're all so jealous. Anyway, I can defiantly see why Edward found it hard to sit in that classroom. It's like a natural perfume! I added lavender… and well, it just completed my theory. Yum.

Any questions about what's happened so far, review or PM me.

Emma

PS: **Your Heart Is an Empty Room** by **Death Cab for Cutie**


	13. The Town Is So Small

_The town is so small,  
How could anybody not,  
Look you in the eyes,  
The way that you drive by._

* * *

I spent most of the night crying in Edward's arms.

Charlie didn't survive the change. He had lost too much blood to survive it and the venom had continued to grow until it overpowered his body and stopped his heart. Edward and I hadn't spoken properly because he was just holding me. We had both missed school – and would have anyway because it was rather sunny – but I knew I had to go back at some point. Currently, he was stroking my cheek gently, as if waiting for the tears, willing them all out. In the night, I had cried more than ever before, it was as if I was finally coming to terms with everything. Phil, my mother's, my father's death and my own. His soft eyes were sad and when the shuddering gasps from the sobs subsided, I would repeatedly get lost in their depth; it was what I was doing now.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" I whispered, my voice croaky from lack of use.

"Carlisle has told the other officers at the station that he'll adopt you… if that's okay? You're not legally allowed to live on your own until you turn eighteen."

"Of course," I said, resting my forehead on the side of his neck.

"I'm sorry, Bella. None of this should have happened to you."

"You can't apologise for something that wasn't your fault, Edward."

He sighed, wiping away a few tears. "I know, but I'd do anything to take the pain you're feeling away." Quickly, he glanced upwards, concentrating on a thought. "They want us downstairs," he smiled meekly and then winced a little as a strong one got through.

"Alice?" I guessed.

"Alice."

In the lounge each Cullen couple were sitting. Rosalie and Emmett on a loveseat, Carlisle and Esme on the sofa and Alice and Jasper on the floor, or rather, Alice on Jasper on the floor seeing as she was sitting in his lap. Hands were entwined and everyone was madly in love – I was the only one who seemed remotely… remote as well. I felt some calming waves brush against me and gave my silent thanks to Jasper in the form of a smile. In fact, each member of the Cullens was smiling.

"Welcome to the family, Bella." Esme rose and pulled me into a hug. "He's changed so much since he's been with you. I wish I could show you the difference. You truly belong here, Bella." Those words really woke me up. I _finally _belonged. Among people who knew me, knew what I was and were happy to know me. I was suddenly elated and Jasper and Edward shoot me a look – Edward no doubt looking into his mind and seeing my emotion – but I couldn't care less. It didn't matter if I had lost those dear to me, I had a family to help me through it. I _belonged_.

"What's going to happen?" I asked to Carlisle as Edward took a seat in an armchair and I stood awkwardly by his side. He pulled me down to sit in his lap while rolling his eyes.

"Esme and I will sign the adoption documents, we'll see if we can salvage anything from the house and you'll move in here." It sounded so straightforward when put into words. I nodded and could feel Edward's eyes on me again. I knew he was still worried I would start crying again.

There was another question burning at my lips, to do with the teeth marks on my father but I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. Instead I skirted around it.

"When are we, um, going to the house?"

"You don't have to go, we can if you'd like," Edward said softly, probably worrying that I'd start to cry again.

"No, no," I said. "I'll go. I'd… like to say a proper goodbye."

"We can go today if you would like," Alice said in her high voice.

"Isn't it a little too –" Edward began saying.

"Yes, I'd like to."

"Bella, are you sure?" he whispered, his cool breath tickling my ear.

"I need to do this," I murmured back and then sighed. "I haven't even thought about the funeral." Jasper sent another wave of calm over as Edward wrapped both his arms around my waist, pulling me further back into his chest.

"We'll take care of it," Rosalie said firmly, something I didn't expect as she had been rather distant from me.

"When do you want to go?" Emmett asked.

"Soon." Edward pressed his cheek into my shoulder as I spoke.

* * *

'Soon' was earlier than I had planned. I did want to go but I knew that it would bring on another round of tears, and I was rather reluctant. Edward had reminded me a few times I didn't have to go and I had told him that nothing would change my mind – not even myself. Edward, Alice and I were riding in the Volvo and Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper were arranging the funeral while Carlisle was at work. I had no sense of time other than it was daytime and was incredibly shocked to find that it was Thursday; I had wasted five days crying in Edward's room. That seemed to remind me that I needed to hunt soon as if the burn in the back of my throat wasn't.

"Where's the key, Bella?" Alice asked.

"Under the eave," I said absentmindedly, looking at the house I hadn't even lived a year in.

A cool hand slipped into my own. "I'm here for you if you want me, love."

"I'll always want you." I pulled us inside.

It was atrocious. Ash and soot covered almost everything and I was surprised the stairs even survived. My mouth had gone dry. The wallpaper was burnt to a crisp and you could see the plaster and hot water pipes through the gap. The jackets on the wall were hardly left – least of all the raincoats, the piles of rubber were cinders now. Why did it look ten times worse after the fire?

"Alice, where are you?" Edward called out, watching me out of the corner of his eye.

"Upstairs. There's not much left here, nothing worth getting. Your clothes are ruined, Bella. I'll have to take you shopping." I winced at the thought.

"Let's start with the kitchen," Edward said, and then he took in my expression. "We don't have –" I tugged at his hand, dragging him into the next room. Out of the whole house, the fire in the kitchen was probably the worst. The wooden table and chairs were black as night and the fridge had been singed. I gasped. "Bella –"

"No, I'm fine."

The counter wasn't too bad; the appliances were still in tact so I unplugged the microwave and handed it to him. After seeing the kitchen at the Cullens, I knew we would need it, or rather, I would. We had filled most of the trunk of the Volvo and Alice had confirmed there was nothing upstairs and began to help us. She found some CDs and DVDs in the lounge that hadn't been touched by the heat. Most of all, I knew I would miss my books. I had a lot of worn classics up there and it would be sad to see them go. Worn books were a sign of happiness, contentment and magical places where your life didn't matter. Only the characters' did.

I stared at the house, the home from my human memories and silently paid my thanks to the burnt objects and recollections of my father watching sport.

The ride back consisted of Edward driving with his knee whilst holding my hand and Alice's examining the appliances, shaking them and asking questions. Emmett was wrestling Jasper when we pulled up, getting covered in dirt too. Alice let out a sigh and started mumbling about how they 'always ruined the best shirts'. The kitchen was very modern, just never used. The island in the middle was made of black, sparkling granite and the cupboards were a white, brightening up the place. There was a fridge-freezer at the far end of the counters. Pulling it open; nothing. I tilted my head to the side and sucked my teeth. It wasn't even running.

"Not much, is it?" Edward rested his head on my shoulder.

"It's very nice, actually. Spacious…" I trailed off.

"But?"

"But a few things need to be turned on before we go food shopping." I knelt down beside the back, reached around for the socket and flicked the switch. A light buzzing sound hummed as it powered up.

"Alice has already headed off. It's a whole other realm of shopping for her."

He drew me into a hug and laid his head on top of mine. I felt utterly content and shut my eyes. "You know," I started, speaking softly. "If I were any more human I'd be sleeping." He chuckled.

"I love you, too, Bella." He kissed my hair and I nuzzled into his neck. It was one of those memories I'd look back on and say 'Yes, there I was totally content.' Despite all the events I that had happened, I felt whole in his arms. I wouldn't wish myself anywhere else.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Why? What for?"

"Everything. It shouldn't be this way for you. You should still be human, living out your life, growing older, getting married, having children, watching your children have children and dying warm and old in your bed."

"That's not a very fun way to die," I quipped.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, and I know it's not your fault. You couldn't stop this even if you tried, Edward." He sighed, admitting defeat and pulled me tighter to his chest.

Later, Alice returned bearing what looked like the entire shop. Together we filled the fridge and cupboard with long lasting, tasty food that I could snack on if I was having a craving – and on the plus side I didn't appear to gain any weight as my body didn't use it. The food was just digested and removed from my system. Edward's new obsession was watching me eat. It was distracting at first and I couldn't concentrate with his golden gaze on me but after a while, his puzzled expression became amusing each time I lifted the food to my mouth. He would sit low on a bar stool, placing his chin on his arms and his eyes would follow me.

I returned to school the next day – the funeral was the day after – and Edward reminded me that we could leave at any time. And I refused to. Admittedly, I didn't enjoy the looks of pity that were directed at me. I knew to expect it, Forks was an incredibly small town and almost everyone knew everyone else. Therefore, everyone knew the chief of police. I few people had the nerve to come up and say 'I'm sorry for your loss,' in which I replied with a quiet 'Thank you.' Afterwards, Edward clutched me closer. The lessons seemed to fly past me in a messy blur in which I only concentrated on my love.

* * *

"We are gathered here today, to witness the death of Charles Swan, loving father and Chief of Police…"

I didn't listen as the priest spoke. I stared unseeing at the wooden coffin that was being lowered six feet below the ground. My eyes were streaming tears and they blocked my vision so that everything was a blur. The whole town had turned up. Before I knew it, I had to make a speech. Something I was totally unprepared for.

I made it up on the spot.

"In many ways, my father was just a man," I began. "A man with a life, a small family and a job. To others, that will be all he is. You here about it on the news; people die every day in tragedies we couldn't have stopped, and each person that passed away had a life, a family and a job. You never stop to think that it could have been your family dying, your loved one lost. I never expected to loose my father at seventeen, who does? Parents are meant to be old and wrinkly when they die. Sadly this was not the case for either one of mine. But I've learnt that… That maybe if that hadn't happened, I would never have met anyone here. My only regret is that I didn't get to know him as well as I could have. I only have short memories with him and I'll grieve over it for the rest of my life."

And I could safely say I did, perhaps not as strongly as when the anguish was fresh but I did lament over it, I did. I did my best not to show it, but it would slip through at times.

"Bella?" Edward's soft velveteen voice called out to me.

"In here." I was lying on his sofa, curled up in the foetal position. The frown on his face was clear and it deepened as he got closer to me.

"Bella, look at me."

I did and the torment shining through his golden eyes was like a stab to my chest. He was about to speak but I sat up, startling both of us, and wrapped my arms around him.

"I don't like seeing you in pain," I whispered into his chest.

"I don't like seeing you in it, either," he sighed and then chuckled. "We're a pair, aren't we?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Anyway, I came here to ask if you'd be up for some baseball," he mumbled into my hair.

"Vampires like baseball?" I pulled back to look at his face.

"Yes," he kissed my head. "We do, indeed."

"Won't it rain?" I said, after a glance at the sky.

"Alice?" he called, knowing she could hear.

"We won't get wet," she called back.

"Okay, I guess." His grin shot onto his face. "But if I trip…" I poked a finger at him.

He just laughed.

* * *

AN: Cue 'the bad guys'.

Firstly, I fail. I was supposed to post this last night but I forgot. You can blame those over on and the chatroom, Svalbard. Plus, I'm sorry it's short(ish), it's half the amount of words I'd usually write (2000, not 4000). I've just got my first piece of coursework (or assignment if you want) and it's worded completely wrong. I know you get angry at how long it takes for me to update. But what can I say? I'm only… 50-55 WPM. :( _Test yourself with the link on my profile! I want to hear your results! ... _No, that wasn't shameless advertising!

To sum it all up, I'M SORRY!

I hated writing trunk. I say boot, damn it. It's not fair; if I wrote in English, not American, no one would understand me unless they were true Brits. Don't you want an English Edward? -ponders-

Something else I've noticed, I make Edward hug. Lots. :D

I take it you've all read the Breaking Dawn Chapter? And seen the cover? No? To Facebook with you, you imbeciles!

Emma.

PS: **Ode to LRC** by **Band of Horses **


	14. Paris is Burning

**I AM SO SORRY.**

You probably all hate me with a fiery passion.  
There's no real way to apologise for this.  
I've had a terrible bout of 'Writer's Block'  
despite not believing in the thing.  
Let's just say the words weren't flowing.  
Oh well.  
Here's the chapter, that's the main thing.  
Plus, there's not long to go before the end…

* * *

_We are waiting on a telegram to give us news of the fall,__  
I am sorry to report dear Paris is burning after all.__  
We have taken to the streets in open rejoice revolting,  
We are dancing a black waltz, fair Paris is burning after all._

* * *

The ride to the playing field was generally quiet as we ran. Everyone understood that I wasn't really in the mood for talking, but really it was the baseball. I had never been too good at games and had only become good at running because I was pushing more vampire without knowing it. Esme, Edward and I stopped at the edge of the field while the others ran off. Carlisle started marking out bases as Alice and Jasper threw the ball – a blur – back and forth. The clouds above were tinting themselves a darker shade of grey and a chorus of thunder surrounded us.

"So, the thunder is for the noise?" I asked.

Esme nodded and smiled. "We can only play when another loud sound can match the pitches we swing."

"It's… clever. How are the teams set up?"

"Usually it's Alice, Jasper and I on one, and Rosalie, Emmett and Carlisle on another. Esme keeps us all in order."

"So does that mean we have uneven teams, if Esme is refereeing?"

"Not at all, Bella. I'm happy to play," she reassured me.

I frowned, unsure but regardless, the game began.

Alice held the ball in her tiny hands and stood on what looked like the pitcher's mound. Emmett was swinging a silver, metal bat with a smirk on his face. Jasper stood a fair few ten or twelve feet behind him, catching for the other team. Alice stood up straight, piercing her eyes into Emmett's. The ball was at her waist in her hands and in a flash, she flicked her hand.

The ball flew straight into Jasper's; a strike.

He threw it gently back but with the force to knock a horse to the ground. She flicked her hand once more, and this time the bat hit the blur. The noise made me jump. I expected to hear Edward's light chuckle but realised he was missing. My eyes flew to Esme's but hers were intent on the direction the ball went. A little while late, he returned looking triumphant; ball in hand.

"Wow," I murmured, forgetting they could all hear me.

"Good, isn't it?" Rosalie called from home base. "Emmett hits the hardest, but Edward runs the fastest."

"Always gets me out, too," Emmett put in, faking a glare.

One by one, Emmett's team batted and I even caught the ball, sending and fell only once. Before I knew it, I was up. Really, I shouldn't have been scared but when playing in my human years, I had a tendency to let go of the bat, mid-swing and frequently injuring someone. Not that it would hurt them now, but I'd prefer not to become a laughing stock.

"You can do it," Edward said, planting a kiss behind my ear.

I wasn't so sure.

Maybe it was paranoia that made my swing strong or maybe it was something else but whatever it was, I hit the ball. Emmett looked startled that I'd actually swung the bat. The ball flew over in the vague direction of Alice and I ran to first base, then second…

As she caught the ball that sent me out she gasped and froze.

It was at that point where the game stopped being a game.

Her legs gave way just as Jasper caught her and he laid her gently on the grass, stroking her face as if willing her out of the trance. I had seen Alice have a vision before, it wasn't an epic one but it was one, nonetheless. Over the years, Edward told me, she had learnt to hold her upper body still but at times her legs would weaken if she was standing. She had been _under_ for around two or three minutes; much longer than normal.

Slowly, her eyes flickered open and she sat up incredibly quickly. "Bella! You– and that– and Charlie– and," she gasped. "They're so close!"

"Who, Alice, who?" Jasper asked frantically.

"There was a woman and two –," she shook her head. "There!" she pointed towards the trees and we all turned. Her red hair was the first thing I saw, followed by the cat-like body. Afterwards her mate and a man I didn't recognise. Their dark crimson eyes took us in and I couldn't help it.

I ran.

Looking back on it, it was probably best not to; perhaps I could have got a clearer description of why they were here. I ran before my mind could catch up and the light footfalls in the sodden grass and bark were all I could hear. There was a fallen tree in an opening I came to and it didn't surprise me when I heard more footfalls close behind.

"Bella?" the voice timidly asked. I turned and I didn't realise the tears that had leaked out of my eyes. I wiped them away with the back of my hand.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"I am, Edward. Really," I snapped, instantly regretting it.

He sighed. "I want to help you, but I can't if you won't open up to me." He was right, as always. I could pour my soul out to him and he'd still want to hear whatever else I had left to say. His body was centimetres from me as he stood behind me and I leant back; his arms immediately wrapped around me.

"Remember how I was changed?" he nodded behind me, knowing that it was hard for me to bring it up again. "The woman and her mate… are those two vampires." He seemed to freeze; I felt his jaw tighten and arms grip me tighter. "Edward?"

"Are you sure?" his voice was strained.

"Yes." I could practically feel his range burn me. He was fuming and his temper was winning him over.

He wanted to kill them.

"Don't, please." I gasped. "If they hadn't I'd never have met you and I couldn't bare it if someone got hurt because…" I trailed off.

"Of my anger," he finished, tensing again.

"No, of your love," I turned in his arms. "That can sometimes blind you from seeing the facts."

"You're right as usual," he sighed. "Carlisle is asking them not to hunt as we spe–" He stopped mid-sentence.

"What?"

"James just thought 'too late'."

"You mean they've already attacked someone in Forks?"

"I… don't... know?"

"But, Edward, there's only been one death in Forks recently," I squeaked. He said nothing to that and took my hand. "Edward."

"We don't know it was them for sure, Bella. Do _not_ jump to conclusions," he growled, looking darkly into the trees.

The door creaked like a cliché as we entered the house. There was muffled conversation coming from the living room; a light, lilting voice along with a deeper one. Edward's hand hadn't stopped rubbing circles in mine since we left the woods and I was glad for it; I felt like I could break down at any moment. My heart, if it could beat, would be pounding a mile a minute. Why did the walls suddenly seem so dark and gloomy? I snuck a glance at Edward who was looking straight forward, concentrating on what I assumed were their minds. He knocked calmly but I could feel the worry he was hiding. There was a pause, and then a simple "come in."

They were just the same as I remembered; Victoria's cat-like movements and James's calculating looks. Their hands were laced together and Victoria let her head rest on his shoulder. My eyes widened and Edward gave my hand a squeeze. Both their eyebrows rose as they saw me. Meanwhile, the other man was watching our entrance.

"Bella?" Victoria half whispered. My throat had closed up but she went on. "Didn't I tell you she would be good," she slapped James's arm. "And look at that hair; such a lovely shade!"

I tried to gulp down the lump while Jasper sent serene waves around the room.

"_And _you have a mate! Isn't that lovely, James. I feel like we've done something worthwhile now!"

Another glance at Edward showed he was concentrating intently on the pair; his jaw was clenched. I turned my head into his shoulder. How do you speak to the couple that killed your mother and step father and turned you into a vampire?

"How long have you been a coven?" Carlisle picked the perfect time to interrupt.

"Oh, quite some time," James said. "But sometimes we'll split up for a while and go where we wish. See what we can of the world even if it is occasionally in darkness," I stiffened again.

"It's not all the time though," Victoria added. "We've just come back from one actually. Bella, when we saw you it was on our way back to meet up with Laurent, here." How could she speak so freely of my death without feeling any remorse?

There was a long silence; the two's eyes darted from mine to Edward's to Carlisle's. Laurent seemed rather laid back compared to the rest of us. "I'm intrigued actually," he began, changing the subject. "How hard is it for you to stick to this lifestyle?"

"At first, it is rather hard. I changed Edward when he was dying, and tried to stick him to the animal diet, rather than human. I hoped after the first year, he could see that it was possible to abstain from attacking humans." Carlisle was being very careful not to insult the three, just in case Jasper's gift wasn't enough. "Bella is the newest member to our family," I cringed mentally as their attention was directed back to me.

"Family?"

"We act as a family to fit in with the humans and find it seems to describe us well, too. An adoptive family," Esme said.

"Are you the only coven like this?" Victoria asked.

"No, there is another; the Denali Clan in Alaska. They live primarily alone, only showing their faces when they deem it necessary in the town."

"Are they much like you? All mates, I mean." Laurent questioned. He seemed actually interested in our way of life.

"Their location doesn't require many stories because of the small population. Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen and Eleazar. Only Carmen and Eleazar are together." Laurent's eyes appeared to brighten with that prospect.

There was another small pause and Edward's arms tensed, and then started to shake from the strained force. "Bella," he said without looking at me. "I need to speak with you privately," and he pulled me out of the room. He didn't speak until we were safely at the top of the house in our room, and that was only after he had sunk down onto the bed and put his head in his hands. He blew out a heaving sigh, lay back on the bed, pulled his neck up a little and beckoned me over. We could still hear downstairs but they wouldn't be able to hear us if we whispered. He wrapped his hand in mine.

"What is it?"

"All three of them. Laurent seems to be quite honest, Victoria is only pretending to be interested but James is something else entirely. He keeps thinking about your scent and what it reminds him of..."

"Does he know yet?"

He shook his head. "His subconscious might have done so but I don't hear those thoughts."

"Do you think they might have…" I trailed off and his hands came to my cheeks.

"Don't assume anything," he gave me a light peck on the lips. "Not until we're sure."His head drifted to the side, a thing he only did when he was listening. "Carlisle wants me downstairs. Do you want to stay here or –" I was nodding before he was finished. It felt a lot safer up here than downstairs. "I'll be as quick as I can." Another chaste kiss on the lips and he was gone.

I lay back on the bed and listened to the gentle murmurs from below. They seemed to be a world away and at the same time so close. After briefly shutting my eyes, I went to Edward's vast music collection, suddenly disliking the noise. My eyes skimmed the artists and that was saying something. His music taste ranged far and wide but eventually I settled for a generic punk-rock band that wouldn't make me think too hard. Songs in the key of angst.

The music was too loud for me to hear the door open and close. Renee always told me that I'd be deaf by the time I was twenty if I let the volume get that high – not that she could talk back then, blasting ABBA out of the house when she was feeling reckless (more so than usual) – that was the only time she scolded me for something repeatedly. The loud guitar riffs and bass vibrated through the room and the sounds were all I could hear.

But the shock I got when the voice spoke…

"Bella."

* * *

So, I'm an epic phail. More so than in the last chapter.

I found it hard writing the baseball scene because we don't play it here. We play rounders which is basically like baseball but you don't run to home; just to fourth and you're done. Plus, rounders came first (along with cricket) and I'm British which means I'm allowed to be picky.

Baseball is weird. :P

There will be more typing because I'm finally on my holiday!

Actually, that annoys me. I think we're the only country that gets 6 weeks for their summer holiday. Europe generally gets 10. :(

Emma

PS: **Paris is Burning** by** St. Vincent.**

PPS: I keep writing the wrong stories. I'm bad.


	15. We'll Work It Out

Last chapter!

* * *

_Give it a night,  
We'll work it out,__  
We can be nice,  
Ah, ah, ah!_

* * *

"Bella," the voice repeated. "Such a lovely name." The woman sat down on the bed. "What I would have done to have a name like that when I was human. You can imagine the names I was called, of course," she flicked her hair over her shoulder. She sighed, and for a moment, my heart went out to her. "You, however…A lovely name and a lovely scent to go with it! It surprised James and I that you'd still smell _so_ good. It confused us, along with your eyes…" she looked deep in them, and when I gave no answer, continued. "I would imagine it has something to do with a gift, no?" she wanted information, not a girly chat.

My eyes cast themselves to the floor for a short while. The faster she got what she wanted, the faster she would leave. "I can appear human," I swallowed.

"_Really?_" her eyes widened and she leant forward, close to me. My jaw clenched.

"I can eat food to look like one, but I don't need it."

"That _is_ something," she exhaled. "It explains your scent. I knew it couldn't just be your blood doing that. But… why do you smell so familiar? It's been months since I changed you," I flinched at her ease with the word. There was pure concentration on her face, nothing else. No murderous looks or scowls deep enough to touch her nose but that didn't dispel the fact I was controlling my anger. "Oh!"

I waited.

"It must be, yes. James had a man recently who smelt a lot like you." Suddenly she scoffed. "But the man was cooking something, there was a fire and we had to leave. Pure human behavio–"

I shot up. "Get out."

She blinked.

"Get out," I repeated, my fists in balls at my sides.

"Pardon?"

"Out!" Harsh, painful tears were forming in my eyes and hers turned a shade darker. I slammed the door behind her, sliding down it to wrap my arms around my knees. The CD was still playing, and while I tried the block out the emotional lyrics, there was a thundering sound coming up the stairs. I had never felt so much anger, and it was right for me to feel it, but I didn't know how to control it at all. It needed a release but I couldn't see one. Someone tried to open the door, but I blocked it bringing another sob out of me. My arms were tensed so much they were shaking.

"Bella!" Edward's clear voice called through the wood. "Let me in."

"Slowly I rose and opened the door. The amount of worry and love in those ochre eyes made the space between us feel like a sin. It was compulsory to be in his arms so I clutched him closer to me. "I'm sure now," I whispered as his hands rubbed circles on my back. He scooped me up into a bridal lift, held me with one arm as he went to turn off the music and lay us down on the bed.

"What are you going to do?" he asked as he stroked my face.

"Me?"

"Yes, they were your parents," he wiped a stray tear away. "And you should decide what to do."

"I… I… They…" I stuttered, and inhaled a deep breath. "I want them dead but at the same time I don't want any more death. These two," I spat. "Have done nothing but ruin my life right from when they charged into my home and attached their lips to my mom and Phil's necks. Then there is my dad but…"

"But what?" His face was full of anguish and I could see his only wish was to make all this torment vanish.

"But I still feel grateful."

"Grateful?!" he spoke at normal volume.

"Yes," I whispered back, placing my hand on his cheek. "Without them changing me, I'd never have found this family; you. And seeing as I can scarcely imagine my life without you, I'm glad they changed me. The pain was worth it because I got this in return."

"Right. Let me get this straight," he breathed. "You want them dead for what they did to your family but you also want no more death because there has been too much already. You're also happy that you died because you met me…"

"Yes." He struggled to comprehend what I was saying. "I have these bouts of anger at them, but it subsides when I realise what they did for me," I sighed. "It confuses me, too, but it feels right somehow."

He kissed my forehead just as there was a light knock at the door. I stiffened in his arms but Edward called them anyway. "Come in."

It was Alice. She stood nervously at the door. "I saw your conversation… and I have a plan that may just work."

* * *

I paced nervously around the room and I flinched at every sound. Alice plan had to be aborted so there was no chance _this_ would work; Edward could dazzle me so far that I'd forget where we were and my own name but he couldn't dazzle me when he was away from me – of course not. I'd remember everything that could potentially go wrong and it would send me into a panic. Hysteria piled on top of the whole situation wasn't going to help much.

Edward was downstairs with Alice who had found that James knew her in her human life, after Edward overheard it. The muffled sounds that came from below were louder now, and a lot clearer as they were just a few rooms over. I was happy to let her continue, she had always been so confused about where she came from. Truth be told, I was petrified of when Edward asked them to come into the dining room. Courage wasn't something that I carried around like Rosalie or Emmett.

"Brandon? Are you sure?"

"Positive," James voice said.

"Thank you," Alice's sang. I heard her stand from her chair and run up the stairs but not before giving me a thumbs-up from the door and shutting it. Edward's voice sounded now.

"I have a favour to ask the two of you." Oh, here it was. "Bella isn't particularly happy at the moment, understandably." He paused. "I was hoping you'd speak to her, try to sort things out at best."

My silent heart pounded.

"I suppose we could talk to her at the very least."

"Yes."

"Thank you," Edward replied. "I'll take you to her."

This was my cue to sit and look nervous – not a hard thing to do given my current emotions. I slumped down into a wooden chair and knotted my fingers together; clenching and unclenching as my jaw did the same. It felt surreal… I couldn't see it happening. These were bloodthirsty beings – so different to the Cullens – however, if they had the option, I wondered if they would choose our way of life.

There was a gentle knock at the door and Edward poked his head around it. I nodded at his unspoken question. It seemed strange that they had agreed to speak with me so fast, that they were being civil. Maybe they were expecting it.

Their cat-like movements didn't shock me as they entered the room. Silently, they took a seat opposite. Edward walked over to me in three long strides. He cupped my cheeks in his hands, pecked me on the lips and inhaled my hair.

"I'll be just outside if you need me," he said, so quietly Victoria and James didn't have a hope in hell of hearing. "Just say my name." I nodded as he left my side and shut the door as quietly as he opened it. I didn't say anything at first; just looked into Victoria's eyes, occasionally switching to James'. After about a minute of their nervousness, James spoke up.

"What was it you wanted to speak about?"

I paused for a moment. "I just wanted to know what possessed you to change me, instead of killing me."

"Ahh, I –" Victoria cut James off.

"I suppose I should answer, seeing as it was me that bit you," she said, solemnly. I said nothing but she continued. "Before we had ever met you, before you were born, probably, we were part of an organisation that was creating an army. We were instructed to change the best of three that we killed to add to the soldiers. Most that tried to retaliate were killed by other newborns, but eventually, the group was taken down by the Volturi. As for your mother and step-father, well, you've felt the bloodlust. We had to move in daylight to get across the state, and we had over guessed our restraint but I…" she trailed off. "I can't say what possessed me to change you, Bella. It just happened."

I inhaled deeply, trying to keep calm and not burst into tears.

"Okay. I have another question." They nodded. "I wondered if you knew that your failed hunt was my father. I had to save him from the fire, and he died from the venom."

"I… Oh," Victoria squeaked. My dead heart was tugging at something unknown.

Silence.

To my surprise, James broke it. "We've been horrid to you, haven't we? We've taken away everything from you and landed you in a world you had no idea existed. We'll do what you want. If you never want to see us again, we'll go. If you want to fight us, you can, but we'll fight back."

"I… just want to be normal, again. Human. I want my parents living. I want the impossible and…"

I hadn't noticed the way their eyes were slowly turning black; a warning sign to what I was doing. Tears were welling up in my eyes, blocking my views from the world.

Victoria lunged at me, lashing out with the furious rage that I normally associated with her. The wooden dining chair flipped over backwards and I fell with it as she crashed into a cabinet; the sound of glass smashing ricocheted around the room. I rolled off the floor into an instinctive crouch. James was backing away into the opposite corner, away from me while Victoria was recuperating.

I spun on my heel and looked her level in the eyes. The door was smashed open, hitting the wall on the other side, at the same time she dropped to the floor.

It had been six seconds since we were civil.

I turned my back on the frail vampire and went to see Edward. He looked murderous, not sure who to go for first. I placed my hand on his shaking arm and tried to relax him. He took me in then, checking for injuries and any signs of damage. Eventually, he pressed his forehead against mine and his eyelids shut; he was calm, for the most part.

James eyed us wearily as he watched Victoria attempt to push herself up off the floor. No luck. He wanted to help but didn't dare get any closer.

"She'll be fine once she feeds, but if I see you two again, I will kill you for hurting Bella." Edward snarled. "Never come here again."

"No chance," James muttered as he scooped Victoria up. Edward growled warning him, but stepped to the side to let them pass. I did the same.

Nothing happened until we heard the door slam.

Once it did, I was clutching at Edward, trying to get him closer and closer; to merge us into one. "I was so scared," I whispered in his ear. His hands made shapes on my back.

"You had no reason to be," he murmured back. "You'll never see them again, either. James was sufficiently scared and I doubt Victoria will ever think your name ever again." I squished him to me, again; harder this time. "I love you," he kissed me. "So much."

"Mmm," I nodded, tiny, stupid tears rolling down my cheeks.

He pulled back to see me. "Why are you crying?" he asked, distressed.

"I have no idea," I hiccupped. "Love you."

He chuckled, wiping them away. "Come on," he spoke. "I want to take you somewhere."

"Where?" I asked, sobering up now.

"It's a surprise."

"But Edward, what about –"

"You can tell everyone what happened and apologise to Esme later. You won't want to miss this, love." He picked me up and swung me around onto his back.

We darted out of the house at a racing speed; things were blurs in my peripheral vision. I loved the feeling and laced Edward's neck with little kisses as we darted through the forest. He tensed under me, and I laughed. Now and then, the rain from last night sprayed up and lightly hit us on the face. I rejoiced in the feeling.

"We're nearly there," he commented. "Can you see that light over there?"

"Yes," I breathed. Edward slowed to a jog and then a stop. He carefully dropped me down to the green, ferny floor.

Suddenly, all source of light in my world was gone; I yelped.

"Shhhh," he hushed me. "You can't see until it's ready." He walked us forward, and I stumbled once; I could nearly hear his smile. "Right, okay."

The hands were removed swiftly and I found myself in a field full of wild flowers; the bright colours looked amazing under the vivid green. I trailed my hands over the beautiful, stunning petals. I turned, wanting to share this moment with Edward and gasped. His head was low, but he looked up from dark lashes.

The slow moving sun was tugging down bringing with it the perfect time; the magic hour. He sparkled as the light caught in his skin. And the best part was…

I did the same.

We were striding closer and closer towards each other until we were wrapped up in each other's arms. I couldn't think of another place on Earth I would rather be. We were completely content with the silence, but there was a question bubbling at my lips that couldn't be ignored.

"Do you think we would have met, even if my mother wasn't killed?"

"Well," he pondered it for a while. "I think we might have. Perhaps you would have moved here to get to know Charlie."

"Yes," I agreed. "And whatever made you hate me in the first place would be stronger because of my blood."

"But I would get over it, because I would see that there was more to you than meets the eye."

"Except you wouldn't be able to read my mind."

"Fine," he chuckled. "But I would have to be more stubborn than I was."

"Deal," I smirked.

"We could write a book."

"What?" I blinked.

"It would exactly the same, but you would be a human."

"And how would we get away with that?"

"It would come under Young Adult Fantasy. If it's fantasy, you can get away with anything."

"I'll think about it," I smiled.

"We have forever, my love," and with that, he sealed my lips with a kiss.

**Fin.**

* * *

It's really hard to write Bella angry after writing her timid for so long. Timid Bella is better than angry Bella when you're sticking to not making them OOC.

So, I suppose here is where I write my official resignation. I'll be taking a break from if you'd like to call it that. I'll still be active, and you'll still be able to reach me by PM but I'm going to write my stories up before posting them so I can edit them as much as I like. Plus, I hate the pressure we writers go under for updates and when the words aren't flowing, we can't help it. So, I'll still be here, reading and reviewing but you may not see something from me for a while. This has absolutely nothing to do with Breaking Dawn. I actually rather liked it.

Emma

PS: **Give It a Night **by **Bella**. Yes, really. :P

PPS: Check out my friend's story: _Daredevil_; her name is _pixistix_. It's an AH about Bella being a surfer and having to move where to Phoenix (where Edward lives! Hooray!)


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